


You're so gay, Craig

by Kemna



Category: South Park
Genre: High School, M/M, cursing, kenny is a horny bastard, lots of curing tbh, mention of drug use, mentions of sexual situations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-06 18:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 72,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5427026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kemna/pseuds/Kemna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Yaoi artwork was bad enough. Seven years of dealing with erotic paitings of him and Tweek took a toll on Craig, to be quite honest. </p><p>But recently, the Asian girls has gotten into a new fad, and in a heartbeat had Craig and Tweek dragged in with it. And it might even be worst than the yaoi drawings. </p><p>Yes, we're talking about Fanfics.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey," Clyde continued, "At least you fucking an alien is way better than that gender bender crap that was in a few months ago."
> 
> "I don't know, man" Token said, "I think fucking Tweek as a girl is a lot better than fucking him as an alien."

The Yaoi artwork was bad enough. Seven years of dealing with erotic paitings of him and Tweek took a toll on Craig, to be quite honest.  
But recently, the Asian girls has gotten into a new fad, and in a heartbeat had Craig and Tweek dragged in with it. And it might even be worst than the yaoi drawings. Yes, we're talking about: Fanfics.

"Here's another one." Clyde threw down the stack of paper onto the lunch table, a stoic look on his face as he sat down on the opposite side from Craig and Token. "This time it's about Tweek being an alien trapped in a secret government base where you work and you having the hots for him even though you're a human. The storyline was interesting, but the writing was a bit weak to say the least."

Craig reached for the stack of paper, seemingly unaffected by the fact that his best friend actually took the time out of his life to sit and read the damn thing. Oh god, another story of him and Tweek? This was the fifth one this week.

"Isn't this, like, third Alien-Tweek one they've written this month?" Token questioned. "I didn't know bestiality was such a big thing these days."

"Does it really count as bestiality if Craig's having sex with an alien though? I mean, it's technically not an animal, right?"

"Oh god," Craig groaned and shot his friend a disgusting look. "Please don't tell me you actually read the sex scenes." Although, it wouldn't be the first time Clyde did.The first time had Clyde dying in laughter while fighting off a nerve-wrecking Tweek, who was just trying to get the story back so he could burn it.

Clyde waved him off, as if the answer was obvious. "Of course not, dude. I skipped past all that crap. I don’t want to read about you sticking your dick up Tweek's ass. You've read one sex scene, you've read them all. It's the same bullshit every time."

Craig flipped him off before going back to flipping through the stack of paper. It was about 16 pages long and Craig wondered how these girls had the time to write out all this crap.

"Hey," Clyde continued, "At least you fucking an alien is was better than that gender bender fad that was in a few months ago."

"I don't know, man" Token said, "I think fucking Tweek as a girl is a lot better than fucking him as an alien." Craig already knew there was a teasing smirk on Token’s face without even having to look at his direction. 

"Nah, dude. That's just weird. I mean, Craig's gay. He's not going to want to have sex with something with a vagina. He needs something with a dick. Girl-Tweek just isn’t his type."

"Oh god. Can you guys just shut the hell up?" Craig snapped. "It's bad enough these Asian bitches are writing made up stories about me and Tweek, I don't need you guys fucking debating about what I like to fuck or not fuck."

Token put his arm around Craig's shoulder and flashed his million-dollar smile at him. The same smile that all the girls in school go crazy for. The same smile Clyde is hella jealous of. "We're just playing, bro. Besides, you should already be used to this crap. The Asian girls have been drawing you and Tweek doing nasty things to each other since elementary school."

Craig groaned again and slide down into his seat, the stack of papers still in his hands.

"Yeah, man," Clyde agreed, "Besides, it's not like you or Tweek even read the stories. The Asian girls always gives you guys a copy, but you guys always just throw them out."

"It's still annoying as hell though," Craig grumbled, "I mean, a picture is just a picture. But to have a detailed description of you putting your dick into someone else's ass, it's weird. I hate it."

Before his friends could respond, Craig stood up, stack in his hands, and an annoyed expression plastered on his face. "I'm gonna throw this out before anyone else reads it. The last thing I need is Cartman somehow getting his grubby hands on it."

He walked away from the table and headed to the other side of the cafeteria towards the garbage cans. On his way there, he passed the table where the Asian girls were sitting, and he noticed them huddled around a notebook. Probably another story they were writing. He shot them a dirty look as he passed by, but none of them seemed to have noticed as their attention were stuck on the notebook and noticing else. 

Once he reached the garbage cans, Craig took one last quick glance at the story in his hand and frowned.

Ever since Elementary School, he and Tweek were stuck in this fake relationship, which the Asian girls loved to glorify every minute they could. That meant countless of drawing of them, from cuddling, to kissing, to straight out banging each other. It was uncomfortable at first, but over the years Craig eventually got used to it. The Asian would do whatever they could so that Craig and Tweek could get a copy of their artwork. From stuffing it inside their lockers, or sneaking it inside their book bags, to even giving copies to Clyde and Token in hopes of them passing it off to Craig and Tweek. A handful of times the Asian girls had even mailed it to the Craig’s house, much to his farher’s disliking. 

But recently, the Asian girls must have gotten bored of drawing the same crap, that they decided to update to writing stories about Craig and Tweek. Fanfics, as they call them. Some stories were just a few paragraphs long, some were  pages, and they always ended with Tweek having something up his ass.

The fanfics were worst than the drawings. 

By now, Craig didn't even know why he was still in a relationship with Tweek. The town has already gotten over them years ago and no longer showed any signs of going into depression if Craig and Tweek decided to finally break it off. And the only fans they seemed to still have were the Asian girls (and also Clyde and Token). Everybody were now used to them, and the two of them being gay wasn't as big of a deal as it was when they were still 10.

So why the hell was Craig was still in this fake relationship with him?

"Oh, Craig!"

Craig glanced to the side and saw Tweek from across the room, making his way over.

Tweek hadn't changed much from when we was a kid. He was still constantly fidgeting and over thinking everything, and unlike everybody else, he didn't get much of a growth spurt so he was still pretty short compared to the other guys.

He rarely ever bothered to comb that mess of a hair of his, and would get annoyed whenever Craig would complain about it. But, at least he learned to button his shirt correctly. Sometimes. Tweek had the habit of basically wearing the same thing every day, or he’d wear whatever he fell asleep in the night before. 

Tweek had that stupid wide grin of his as he made his way over, and it was then when Craig remember why he was still in a fake relationship with Tweek.

Because he had a huge ridiculous crush on the kid.

"Whatcha got there?" Tweek asked once he finally made he way over.

"Another story," Craig grumbled. He threw the stack of papers into the trash and frowned at Tweek. "You know, I don't exactly appreciate you coming to adduct our planet and then using the excuse to escape from jail just so you can suck my dick."

"What? Oh Jesus. Another alien one?" Tweek was already fidgeting when he face palmed himself. "Oh god, when will it stop? Why did you even read it?"

"I didn't," Craig mumbled. The two began making their way back to the table. Without even realizing it, Craig had already reached over to lock his handles with Tweek, who accepted it without question. "Clyde did. Which he really needs to stop doing. It's creepy."

"Dude, why is it always me stuck in the weird situations in their stories, huh? I mean, first I was girl pretending to be a dude, then I was a student seducing a Teacher, a-and now they have me as an alien! Oh god, I don't even want to imagine what they'll make me be next."

Craig couldn't helped but be amused by how freaked out Tweek was becoming. Despite what others thought, Tweek’s fidgeting was charming to Craig. 

"The student-teacher one wasn't that bad. It‘s nice to know that the Asian chicks think I have the potential to actually become a teacher."

"Dude, we both know you're too dumb to be a teacher."

Craig flipped him off with his free hand, to which Tweek responded with a chuckle. By then, the two had reached the lunch table. They sat down in their usual seats, Craig next to Token and Tweek sitting across from him.

"So Tweekers, did you get any knew stories from the Asian girls today?" Clyde asked.

Tweek twitched. "Just one. L-last period. I was a prisoner on the run and Craig was a police officer."

"Tweek as a prisoner?" Token said, "I can't picture it."

"Same.”

"What are you saying? That Tweek isn't badass enough to get himself into prison?" Craig commented. Though he himself didn’t even believe it. Tweek was too nice, too innocent to do anything bad.

"Yeah, I can be bad.” Tweek tried to defend.

"Tweek, you almost cried yesterday because you thought you forgot your English homework."

"That's because it was 2/4th of our grade! Oh god, what if I didn't hand it in and failed? What if I never graduated because of it and had to drop out and became a homeless?" Tweek's eye was twitching as his hand found their way to the top of his head and began tugging at his hair.

Craig reached over to grab Tweek's hand to stop him.

"And you shouldn't be talking, Craig" Tweek continued, "You cried last week because the girl died in that movie we saw!"

Craig’s face flushed red as the other guys began to laugh. "Fuck you, Tweek."

Tweek was about to say something to retaliate, when another stack of papers were slammed onto the table. The guys looked up to see Jimmy standing there, a sour look on his face.

"L-l-look what I found g-g-guys."

"Another one?" Craig groaned. This was the fifth one today. Didn't those Asian chicks ever run of out of ideas or something? How do they keep finding something new to write about.

"Yeah, it was shoved in my l-l-locker."

Clyde quickly grabbed the stack before Craig could through it out and began skimming through it. "Ha! This one has Tweek with a foot fetish!"

"What!?"

"And dude," Clyde said, looking up at Craig with a grin, "You're totally into it, too."

"For the love of god," Craig snatched the stack of paper out of Clyde’s hand and stuffed it into his backpack. "Stop reading that crap. You're just encouraging them."

"I agree. I think I've had enough of finding these stories e-e-everywhere."

While the rest of the guys nodded their heads in agreement, Clyde had a tentative look on his face. "It's not like they're hurting anyone. They're just having some fun."

Before anyone could make a comment, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for their next class. With a quick "See ya later," the guys got up one by one and made their way to their next destination.

With Tweek's hand in his, Craig walked down the hallway to where Tweek's history class was located. It became a routine to walk Tweek to his next class, even if his next class was on the other side of the school. Craig didn't mind. He liked the feeling of Tweek's finger's intertwined with his. It felt nice.

"What if- what if they do more fetish stories?" Tweek was already a twitching mess and he was struggling to resist pulling on his hair some more. But he knew if he did, Craig would just stop him. "What if in the next one they make me into a cross dresser? Or- or what if they have me be a furry?"

"I doubt they'd go that extreme," Craig said calmly. He needed to speak calmly for Tweek to help Tweek calm down. It was something he learned a year after they became a couple. Tweek was affected by his environment. If those around him are calm, then Tweek can calm down himself. It just took some time. It was okay though. Craig was patient with him. 

"But what if one of the guys read it? Not our guys, but like Stan and them? What if they read it and make fun of me? Oh Jesus."

"That could never happen."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'll kick their ass before they even think about saying anything."

Tweek stopped walking and it was then that Craig realized they were already in front of Tweek's class. 

"You'd do that?" He was no longer twitching.

Craig blinked down at him. He felt his hand being squeezed. "Well, yeah. You're my boyfriend, right? I can’t let someone get away with talking crap about my boyfriend."

It took a moment before Tweek flashed Craig a bright smile. "I'll see you after class." He reached up to place a quick peck on Craig's cheek.

"Yeah," Craig said when Tweek pulled away. He tried to ignore the butterflies growing in his stomach. "See you after."

Tweek gave Craig's hand one more squeeze before letting go and walking into the room right before the second bell rang.

Craig didn't mind the fact that walking Tweek to his class always made him late to his own. It was worth it if it meant getting to hold his hand a little longer.

And well, he didn't mind the kisses either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Okay, new rule: no one drives home with me ever again. Except for Tweek."
> 
> "Objection!" Clyde called out, "That's favoritism and uncalled for!"
> 
> "Overruled. No one cares about your feelings, Clyde."

" _Craig placed a gentle hand on Tweek's thigh. It was a nice thigh. A squishy, yet firm thigh, and Craig absolutely loved it. Who knew vampires had such nice thighs. He leaned in closer, so that their lips were only centimeters apart and their breathes were now mingling with each other._

_'Can you..?', Craig whispered. Tweek flushed, his face turning into a deep color of red. Like that red shirt Craig wore last week. Man, did that shirt look good on him._

_'Are you sure you want it? Once I do it, you'll never be able to go back to the way you used to be..' Even as he spoke those words, Tweek was turning Craig's head so that he could get a better angle of the other male's neck._

_'If it means being with you, then yes. I want it.'_

_Without another word, Tweek leaned in so that his mouth was hovering over Craig's neck. With a look for approval, Tweek opened his mouth a sunk his two vampire-like teeth into Craig's neck. God, did his blood taste good. Like, really good. But not as good as when Tweek was in Craig's bedroom last night, and instead of sucking on his neck, he was sucking on his_ \- Holy shit, dude! This is gold!" Clyde let out a loud laugh, completely enjoying the story in his hands.

Craig's grip on the steering wheel tighten. "For the love of God, can you stop reading that crap?"

"Hell no," Cyde said from the passenger seat in between laughter, "It's too funny! I think this is my favorite one yet!"

If Craig wasn't too busy making a turn, he would've gladly given his friend a good look at his middle finger. Instead he muttered a "fuck you".

"Seriously though," Token said from the back seat, "Even I'm tired of hearing it. Just stop."

Clyde turned his head to look at Token and laughed. "Like hell I'm going to stop. We just got to the good part! I wanna know what happens after Craig becomes a vampire-"

At that moment, their car reached a red light, and Craig took that perfect opportunity to grab the fanfic out of Clyde hands and threw it out the window.

"What the hell!" Clyde cried as he watch the papers fly out the window. 

The light turned green at the moment and Craig went back to focusing on his driving. "I told you to stop reading and you didn't. So that's what you get."

"You do realize that somebody might find i-i-it. With it now out in the streets and all." Jimmy pointed out.

Craig blinked. Fuck.

That made Clyde start laughing even more and Craig reaching over to punch him in the shoulder before going back to driving. "Remind me again why I'm even bothering to give you guys a ride home?"

"Because you love us," Clyde said. He fluttered his eyes and blew Craig a kiss, which Craig responded with another punch to the shoulder.

"Also because your boyfriend isn't here. That's why." Token pointed out. 

Token was right. It became a regular routine for Craig to give Tweek a ride home everyday after school, ever since Craig got his licenses almost a year ago. Tweek never bordered to get his own license. He was always too nervous to drive.

Craig never gave any of the other guys a ride home, mainly because they were annoying as fuck and always left a mess in his car. But Tweek's claustrophobia didn't allow him to be in a packed car. Even with all the windows down, if there was more than two people in a car, he wouldn't be able to breathe properly. So of course Craig would choose to give a ride to Tweek over his friends.

But it wasn’t like his friends were bitter about it. Token always had his personal driver pick him up and the guys thought going with Token was a lot cooler than going with Craig. Probably because Token's car had a snack bar.

But it didn't matter to Craig. He liked driving with Tweek. It's always fun watching him freak out about getting into an accident or going too fast. Everything about Tweek was fun.

But unfortunately Tweek had to stay after school to make up a test he missed for one of his classes. Craig offered to stay back and wait for him, like any good boyfriend should, but Tweek turned him down and said he already made plans to have his dad pick him up later. And when the guys heard that Craig was going to drive home alone today, well, they couldn't miss that opportunity, now could they?

"Okay, new rule: no one drives home with me ever again. Except for Tweek."

"Objection!" Clyde called out, "That's favoritism and uncalled for!"

"Overruled. No one cares about your feelings, Clyde."

"Fuck you, Craig. You're just pissed because Tweek isn't here to suck you off while you're driving. It's not our fault your boyfriend is giving you blue balls. No need to be so pissy at us."

Craig rolled his eyes, but didn't answer. Well, it wasn't like it hasn't happened before. Tweek has sucked him off before. Not while he was driving, of course. It was only once, when they were still freshmens in high school. Curiosity had gotten the better of them, and it was something they decided to try out.

At the end, Tweek was a nervous mess and Craig had to go to the bathroom to finish the job. They silently agreed to never speak about it again.

"Like I said, you guys are never allowed in my car ever again."

"Whatever," Clyde waved off, "Your car is crap anyways. Token's is so much better." Clyde reached into Craig's backpack that was sitting at his foot and pulled out another packet of paper. "At least he lets me read these fanfics. This one here is title 'How to Win Tweek in 5 Easy Steps'. Ooh, sounds interesting."

Luckily Craig reached another red light, so he grabbed the packet out of Clyde's hands and stuffed in back into his backpack. This time he wasn't stupid enough to to throw it out the window. "That's it. You’re banned from reading any more of these stupid stories. In fact, you're banned from reading in general. One week."

"You can't do that!" Clyde turned to look at Jimmy and Token. "He can't do that, right?"

Jimmy shrugged. "His car, his rules."

"I hate all of you guys."

 

It took Craig almost an hour longer to get home. You would've expected it was Token's fault, since he lived the furthest by where all the rich kids live, but it was Clyde who wanted to stop by every fast food place they past by.

Walking into the kitchen to grab himself something to drink, Craig saw his mom already working on dinner. She looked over at him, a little surprised. "Oh? You're finally home? What took you so long?"

"Clyde," was all Craig muttered. Apparently it was a good enough answer because his mother didn't bother to question any further.

"Well, I'm making lasagna tonight. I know how much Tweek loves it. By the way, where is he?"

"He had to stay after school." Craig grabbed himself a can of soda from the fridge and began heading towards his room. "He'll probably come by later. I’ll let him know what you made."

"Well, I'll call you when dinner is ready. Don't forget to start your homework."

Craig went upstairs and entered his room, closing the door behind him. After placing the soda can on his desk, he tossed his backpack on the floor and threw himself on to his bed, nuzzling his nose into the pillow.

It smelled like Tweek.

Craig couldn't remember when he first began developering a crush on Tweek. It sort of just happened without him realizing it. One day he saw Tweek as nothing more than his best friend (who also happened to be his fake boyfriend), and the next day he was wondering how it would feel to make out with him. He could blame it on his teenage hormones, but he knew it was more than just that.

He began noticing the little things about Tweek. The way his lips were always chapped due to the fact that he would always lick them whenever he got nervous. The way he smelt like a hint of coffee from always hanging around his parent’s coffee shop. The way he would tug his hair or rub his palms against his thighs whenever he began overthinking things.

But it was even the smaller things that made Craig realize how deep he was falling. The twinkle of excitement in Tweek’s eyes whenever he manages to make Craig laugh. How Tweek always had to brag about his passing grade to Craig, but would hide it from everyone else so that they didn’t find out how smart he really was. How he would look at dogs from afar with awe, but got too nervous to pet them. 

Craig noticed it all.

The first time they kissed was in elementary school. It was a small kiss, a simple brush of the lips, caused by the peer pressure from the kids in their school. Craig didn't think much of it and focused more of flipping the guys off for thinking that he was a crappy kisser then how chapped Tweek's lips were.

They didn't kiss any more after day.

Their next kiss wasn't until two years later, when they were in middle school. This time, they didn't have the eyes of all the other guys locked on them. It was just the two of them, locked in Craig's room while their parents were downstairs finishing up dinner. Valentines Day was less than a week away and Tweek was already freaking out.

"What if they want us to kiss? What if they expect us to do something big on Valentines Day? Oh god. That's too much pressure!"

It was always an issue when Valentines Day came around. The pressure they got from everyone around them was too much to bare, and so for the past couple of Valentines Day had the two boys skipping school and locked inside their own bedrooms until the day was over.

But they couldn’t keep themselves locked in their rooms every year, and the boys knew that. 

So they decided to practice kissing. The more they practiced, the more believable and less inexperienced they'll look. So they practiced everyday until Valentines came. And they continued even after it passed by.

But before kissing became a regular thing between the two of them, Craig had wondered how it would feel to kiss Tweek. Not that pathetic brush that was their first kiss. But the actual lips against lips type of kiss that would leave them breathless once they pulled away.

And the moment he finally did get the kiss he wanted, Craig realized something: Tweek was a fucking great kisser.

They now don't kiss as often as they did back in middle school. But it's not an odd thing for them to spend a whole afternoon just making out on Craig's bed. Even if no one was there to see, Craig liked to lean in whenever he felt it was right to press his lips again Tweek. And he loved it even more when Tweek responded.

They've also done more than just kissing.

Jacking each other off became a thing for them too. There was no real reason why or how they started doing it. It sort of just happened. One day, Craig got a raging boner after making out with Tweek for half an hour straight, and Tweek was oh so kind to help him out with it. Of course, that just gave Tweek a boner himself, and Craig wasn't going to just have Tweek deal with it himself.

They were clumsy the first time. With awkward rhythms and avoiding eye contact because they didn't know where to really look. But eventually they got the hang of it. Now Craig knew where to touch Tweek, which spots made him feel good.

Tweek also gave him a blowjob. It was only once, and it last only about five minutes.

Craig has seen sides of Tweek that no one else had, and he loved that idea. It made him feel special.

At this point, Craig wasn't even sure if they were still in a "fake" relationship, or if it somehow transitioned into a real one with him realizing it. The two never really talked about what they were or how they honestly felt about each other.

Laying on the bed, Craig felt his cellphone vibrating in his pocket. He knew who it was already without having to look at the caller ID. He set Tweek's number to have a different vibration pattern from everybody else's. 

He didn't lift up his head, and instead turned it so that he had enough breathing space, but could still smell the Tweek-scented pillow at the same time. He answered the call.

"Hey, Tweekers."

"Hey." Tweek was speaking calmly, something that was rare to hear. "Are-are you home yet? I just got out of the school. The test was harder than I thought."

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, it's fine. My dad- He's on his way to pick me up already. It's fine."

Craig frowned. "I wouldn't mind picking you up, you know."

"I know! I just- I already told my dad. There's no point, you know? You’re already home. Why come back, you know?"

"Oh. Well," Craig inhaled the pillow's sent again, "Well, my mom is making lasagna. The kind you like. With the bacon bits in it."

Tweek yelped through the phone. "Is she really? Oh Jesus. I don't-I don't think I can come over today. I did bad on my test. My dad is gonna make me stay home to study, I just know it! Oh god, what do I do?"

Craig cracked a smile. "It's fine, Tweek. We'll save some for you for tomorrow." Maybe he’ll pack some up and bring it for Tweek to have as lunch.

"Oh. Uh." Tweek hesitated for a moment, and Craig frowned again. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

"What's up, Tweek? Did something... happen?"

Tweek remained silent and all Craig could hear was his heavy breathing.

"Tweek?" Craig spoke again, this time in a firm voice.

"Gah! Okay, okay! Um, I ran into one of those Asian girls today. After my test, just now. She-she gave me another one of those Fanfics, or whatever they call it. She told me what it was about. Craig, I was a serial killer. A serial killer! And-and you were a cop, and we fell in love."

"... So?" It didn't sound any different from any of the other stories those Asian girls would write about. Why was Tweek freaking out so much about it?

"So? Craig! What is it always me? Why am I always the weird one in the stories? I mean, I was a serial killer. Seriously, man? A serial killer? I can't do this anymore. I-I want out!"

Craig inhaled one more time before sitting up and leaning against the headboard. "What do you mean you want out?"

"Think about it, man," Tweek exclaimed, his voice raising with every word. "It's always me being in the weird situation in their stories! I'm always the alien, or the mermaid, or the dude who's secretly a girl! Is there a reason? Do-do the girls think of me in some kind of way that they always make me the strange one in their stories? Huh?"

"Tweek," Craig said slowly, "Take a deep breath." Tweek did as he was told. "Listen," Craig continued, "They're just stories. They don't mean anything. The Asian girls are just... they're just weird, okay? Besides, it's not like they're gonna ever stop writing them."

"Yeah. Well-well, I was think about that. About making them stop."

Craig chuckled. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"We-we break up."

Craig wasn't chuckling anymore. "What?"

"Break up. We break up. The girl, they have to stop writing after that. I mean, they'll still keep writing, but not as much. And maybe-maybe they'll eventually stop. You know?"

Craig's chest began to feel heavy. "Break up? Just like that?"

"Yeah! I mean, it's not like they're any more reason for us to still be together, right? The town, they don't care about us any more. And the Asian girls! They'll stop too! They'll stop writing the stories. Eventually. Hopefully."

Craig didn't know what to say, so he remained silent. His chest still felt heavy and it was getting heavier by the seconds.

"I think- I think we should do it," Tweek continued, "Break up, I mean."

Craig licked his dry lips. Finally, he spoke. "Okay." 

"O-okay?"

"Yeah. You're right. We don't need to be in this fake relationship anymore. So, let's break up."

Craig heard a car honk through the phone. "Oh god, my dad's here."

"So, that's it? We're over?"

Tweek hesitanted for a moment over the phone. "I guess. I gotta- I gotta go. I'll-I'll talk to you later. I guess."

Craig nodded his head. He heard Tweek call out to his dad before a long beep, signaling that the call was over.

Craig reached up to clench his t-shirt.

The last time his heart felt this heavy was when Stripe, Craig’s childhood  Guinea pig, died. Tweek came over and Craig just cried the whole night. It was the first and only time he ever cried in front of anyone. And it was the first time Tweek was the calm one as he just sat next to Craig the whole night in silence as the other cried until he fell asleep.

Craig felt like he was going to cry again.

So that was it? They were just going to break up, just like that?

Seven years, and it's finally over?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "For the hundredth time, I'm fucking fine."
> 
> "But you can't be!"
> 
> "And why the fuck not?"
> 
> "Because now you and Tweek can't grow up, get married, move to the suburbs m, adopt three kids and name them all Clyde Jr!"
> 
> "Dude. The fuck?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The holidays suck when you work in retail.
> 
> Merry Christmas Everyone!

The first thing that Craig ran into the moment he walked through his school's man doors, was a crying Clyde.

He was standing by his locker, with Jimmy and Token standing on either side of him. He was actually baling his eyes out with snot running down his nose and his face completely scrunched up. God, he was a hideous crier.

"What the hell happened this time?" Craig asked when he walked up to them. "He got rejected again?"

The guys all look at him, and the moment Craig and Clyde made eye contact he began crying even harder.

"Say it isn't so!" He exclaimed before throwing himself into Craig's arms. "I don't want to believe it!"

"What the-?" Craig said while trying to regain his balance after Clyde almost knocked him down. "What the hell is wrong with you this time?" 

"It can't be over! It just can't!" Clyde looked up at him and sniffled. "Why, Craig? Why?"

Craig looked over at Token, hoping he could explain what the hell was going on.

"He heard about... you and Tweek," Token said. "And, as you can see, he's taking it pretty well."

Craig blinked. How the hell did they hear about him and Tweek already? They literally broke up last night. Craig wasn't planning on telling any of the guys, especially not Clyde, because he knew how much they'll be up his ass about it.

"Let's forget about Clyde for a minute. How about you, Craig? How are you d-d-doing?" Jimmy said, while looking at Craig with sympathetic eyes. 

"Yeah," Token said, "Are you alright?"

Craig carelessly shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine."

"Lair!" Clyde cried out, "You're not alright! You need to go and sweep Tweek off his feet again before its too late!"

Craig held the urge to punch Clyde in the face. "I'm fine."

It was a lie. He wasn't fine. Of course he wasn’t fine. His chest still felt heavy since the phone call with Tweek yesterday. He wasn't able to eat dinner, wasn't able to sleep, and wasn't even able to eat breakfast this morning. His eyes felt heavier than usual, which just made him became easily aggravated, especially 

But he wasn't going to tell the guys. The last thing he needed was sympathy from them. This was a battle he was just going to fight on his own.

"What happened?" Jimmy asked, "You guys seemed perfectly f-fine. Why'd you guys break up?"

Craig shrugged his shoulders. He walked past them, heading to his own lockers in hopes that they'd drop the topic for now. But instead they followed him. It was obvious 

"We just decided it was time, I guess."

That was the safest answer he could think of. He wasn't sure what Tweek was going to tell them later, and they couldn't have their reasons for breaking up contradicting each other.

"But... so suddenly?"

Craig shrugged again. "I guess so."

"Liar!" Clyde called out again.

"God damn it, Clyde. I said I'm fine so shut-" Craig stopped in the middle of his sentence and froze. At the end of the hallway was Tweek, talking with Red. He was in the middle of explaining something to Red while animatedly moving his hands around, which he often did whenever he became excited about something.

Craig reached up to clench his shirt as he watched the two interact from afar. His chest felt even more heavier than before. He hated this so much. 

He slightly jumped when he felt Token calmly put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Craig growled. He shook Token's hand off of him and frowned towards the guys. "I said I'm fine so just drop it, okay? You guys are annoying the shit out of me."

Craig turned his head back towards Tweek and began walking down the hall.

"Um, Craig, where are you g-going?" Jimmy called from behind.

"To talk with Tweek,” Craig responded without looking back.

The guys were clearly going to say something, but Craig choose to ignore them and continue his way down the hall. He made it to Tweek, without the other male realizing it, right at the moment he ended his conversation with Red. Red had taken a noticeable glance at Craig, but walked away without a comment.

"Hey, Tweekers." Craig leaned against the lockers and looked down at him. His chest was feeling less heavy now.

Tweek jumped when he heard Craig's voice. He turned around to look up at him. "C-Craig? What-what are you doing?"

Craig raised an eyebrow. "Im talking to you?” It was meant to be a statement, but Tweek’s question has thrown Craig off for a quick second.

Tweek's eyes darted left to right, as if he was making sure nobody was watching them. The problem was; everybody was watching them. The students around them were taking glances towards their directions and whispering to each other. 

"You can't..." Tweek grabbed the hem of his own shirt, and in a queiter voice said "We broke up, Craig."

"I know," Craig said, "What? Does that mean I can't talk to you?"

"Well, N-no-"

"No?"

"No! I mean- oh Jesus Christ." Tweek was shaking  "I mean, don't you think it's too early? We just- we just broke up yesterday."

Craig didn't understand. "So? That doesn’t mean we can’t talk to each other."

"Craig, I-"

"Anyways,” Craig inturpted, “Did you finish the math homework for today? I didn't understand it so I figured I could just copy off of you." It was mostly a lie, as Craig didn’t even touch his homework last night. He spent the night laying under his covers and hating life. 

Tweek twisted the hem of his shirt. "C-Craig."

"Yeah?"

"Class is gonna start soon. I gotta - I can't be late, you know."

"Oh." Craig blinked. Class wasn’t going to start for another 10 minutes. "Alright, I guess. See you later, then."

"Um, y-yeah."

His body then moved on its own. He didn't realize what he was doing, and it wasn't until Tweek took a big step back that Craig noticed he had leaned down for a kiss. A kiss Tweek was obviously not going to give.

"W-What are you doing, dude?" Tweek asked. His eyes darted around, taking in the amount of people that were now watching them.

Craig felt himself freeze. He figured he’d play it cool as he tried to stand up straight up again, but his body wasn't listening and he just stood there, his body half way leaning down as he stared at Tweek. He felt himself panicking.

"Sorry," Craig mumbled, "Habit."

Tweek took another step back. He gave Craig one last nervous look before turning away and rushing down the hallway, his head down as he tried to avoid making any eye contact with the people around him. 

Craig watched him until Tweek made a turn and was then completely out of sight. Craig clenched his shirt and sighed. Did he really just fucking do that?

It wasn’t long until he felt Token and the guys come up behind him. "Are you sure you're okay?" Token asked in a low voice.

Craig turned to look at him. They all looked like they had just witness the saddest moment in the history of life.

"I'm fine." Craig spat. He was clearly not fine. 

  
  
By third period, everybody in the school knew and was talking about about Craig and Tweek's break up. Craig couldn't go five minutes without someone asking if it was true or if he was okay. Everybody was giving him their sympathy and it annoyed the hell out of him.

If Craig couldn’t handle this attention, he could only imagine how badly Tweek is taking all of this. 

It wasn't until Butter's asked him if he was alright right before lunch break that he finally snapped.

"I said I'm fucking fine, okay? So leave me the fuck alone before I break your arm."

Of course, it only resulted with Butter's almost starting to cry, which just made Craig look like a bigger dick than he already is.

When lunch finally did come, Craig couldn't be any more relieved. Finally, forty minutes of not having anyone up his ass about Tweek. He hadn’t had anything in his stomach since yesterday’s lunch, and he really needed something in his system if he was going to survive he next handful of classes.

At least, that's what he hoped.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Clyde asked.

Craig had lost his appetite within the minute he sat down at the table. "For the hundredth time, I'm fucking fine."

"But you can't be!"

"And why the hell not?"

"Because now you and Tweek can't grow up, get married, move to the suburbs, adopt three kids and name them all Clyde Jr!"

"Dude. What?"

Token rolled his eyes. Shoving his hand in Clyde's face to get him to shut up, he stared straight at Craig. "Are you sure you're okay?”

"Why the hell do people think I won't be okay?" Craig snapped at them.

Token and Clyde exchanged a knowing look. "Well," Token began, "You guys have been together for seven years."

Craig didn't say anything. He stabbed his fork into his school lunch and kept on stabbing it. He needed to control his anger before he snapped again. 

"You can talk to us, you know."

Craig groaned. "Look, I appreciate you guys looking out for me, even though it's fucking annoying at the same time. But I said I'm fine. So let’s just drop it and move on with our lives."

”Craig, you can’t act like it’s fine when it’s not,” Token started, “You and Tweek have been together for a long time. So I don’t believe that you’re okay with this break up. If it hurts, let us know so we can help you.”

Craig stabbed his food once more time. “I said to drop it.”

The other guys didn't say anything and just went back to eating their own lunch, but every now and then they’d look over at Craig, as if expecting him to pour out his heart to them.

Craig continues to stab his lunch, now annoyed at the fact that he wasted money for something he was no longer on the mood to eat. But soon Craig began to feel uneasy we he had realized something; Tweek wasn't sitting with them. It was already half way through lunch break and Tweek should have been sitting down with them already. 

Craig looked around the room in search of the twitchy blonde. He stopped when he finally did find him.

"The fuck..." Craig mumbled when he realized who Tweek was actually sitting with.

Clyde followed Craig's line of vision and also looked over to where Tweek was sitting. "Uh, I don't think you should be staring at him. Isn't that, like, mentally unhealthy or something?"

"Why the hell is he sitting over there?" Craig asked to himself, but the other two heard loud and clear.

Token also glanced over to the sight. "Why not? He's friends with them."

"But he's supposed to be sitting here," Craig argued. This was _their_ table, for "Craig and those guys", and Tweek was, and has always been, apart of "those guys". So why is he sitting with _those_ guys instead?

Token raised an eyebrow. "You guys broke up... Remember?"

"So?" Craig snapped as he turned his head to look back at him. Why do everybody need to remind him that they broke. What does that have to do with anything? 

"Do you... Do you understand what breaking up means?"

Craig ignored Token's question as he stood up and made his way over to Tweek. He could hear Token and Clyde calling after him, but he just ignored him. 

Everybody at the other table noticed Craig making his way over, except for Tweek who was too busy trying to open a packet of ketchup. Stan and his group were watching Craig with curious eyes. It bothered Craig the way they looked at him like he was an outsider. He guess he couldn’t blame them. He’d act that way too if one of them were making their way to his table.

There was an odd relationship between Craig’s group and Stan’sgroup. While they were all still somewhat friends, some closer than others, there was also a silent rivalry going on between the two groups. Tweek was the only one close enough with both groups that it wasn’t weird for him hang with either one. Craig, however, clearly had a strong hatred towards Stan and them, a hatred he didn’t bother hiding. So seeing him make his way over had the other group keep their guard up. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" Cartman exclaimed once Craig got into a hearing distance. 

Cartman hasn’t changed since elementary school. He was still an overweight, spoiled asshole, who found pleasure in the tortured and humiliation of others. The only difference was that now no one bothers to tolerate his annoying ass. 

"None of your business, fatass."

Craig's voice was enough to surpise Tweek, and that caused him to put more pressure with opening the ketchup packet than he intended that the packet exploded in his hand.

"Shit!" Tweek stood up, traces of ketchup splattered all over his shirt. 

Cartman and Kenny just laughed at him, Kenny's laugh being muffled by his mouth mask. It was something updated to after he finally outgrew that large orange coat of his. Kenny's excuse for using the mask is that he looks cool in it, but the truth is that he gets sick easily and can't afford medication, or a new coat, so the mask helps with keeping away from germs.

"Shit," Tweek repeated. He reached over to grab a napkin, at the same moment when Craig was about to do the same. When he noticed their hands were about to touch again, Tweek pulled his hand back, accidentally knocking the carton of milk that was near him.

"God damn it, dude." Kyle, who was next to him, stood up before the spilt milk could fall on him. 

"S-sorry! I didn't mean it!" Tweek was already shaking as he tried grabbing the napkin again. Craig noticed people in the cafeteria turning their heads to stare at them.

"Forget it," Stan said. He grabbed some napkins himself and began cleaning the mess, Kyle eventually helping him out. "Obviously Craig wants to talk to you, so go. We'll handle this."

Tweek nervously looked at Craig before looking down at the table. "It-Its fine. I can help!"

Craig frowned. Tweek was obviously avoiding him.

"Dude, just go," Cartman said, "We don't want to watch you guys having gay sex on the table."

That made Kenny laugh and Kyle roll his eyes.

Tweet nervously looked around before finally giving up. Grabbing Craig by the wrist, he dragged the taller male into the hallway and away from everyone's sight. Craig could hear Kenny and Cartman snickering as they walked away. 

"Craig, what are you- what are you doing?" Tweek said once the two of them entered the empty hallway. Tweek’s eyes continuously bounced between Craig and the cafeteria door behind him.

"Why are you sitting with Stan and them?"

Tweek began playing with the buttons on his shirt while avoiding eye contact. "What? It's not like like I can sit with you."

"What do you mean?"

"We- we broke up!"

Craig rolled his eyes. "Do you know how many times I've been reminded about that today? I get it. We broke up. But what does that-"

"You don't get it?" Tweek practically screeched, "If you did then- then you wouldn't be talking to me."

"What-"

"Craig, guess how many stories I got from those Asian girls today."

Craig blinked. "Uh-"

"None! I didn't get one today! And-and I haven't gotten any drawings either!"

Craig then realized he hadn't receive anything today either. Usually by lunch he'd get a handful of them, but he hasn't gotten anything from the Asian girls at all today. 

"This break up- it worked. But-but you're gonna ruin it."

"What are you talking about?" Craig asked.

"You can't keep trying to talk to me. If the Asian girls see, they-they might think we're gonna get back together. Man, don't you get it?" Tweek was already tugging at his hair and Craig almost reached over to stop him. 

Now Craig understood. "Wait," he said, "You're telling me that breaking up means we can't even be friends? What the hell is that?"

"We can still be friends," Tweek said, a little too quickly, "It's just- it's just, we can't talk for a while, you know. Just until everybody sees that this break up is official. If we hang out, they might think we'll get back together soon. They won’t take us seriously."

Craig didn't like this plan. Tweek was his best friend, how was he supposed to just not talk to him anymore. Craig hung out with Tweek every single day for the last seven years. How was he supposed to just stop, just like that?

"If breaking up means I can't even talking to you at school, then I don't want to break up."

Tweek stared at Craig with wide eyes. His hands went back to fumbling with his buttons, but they were trembling less than before.

"I mean," Craig continued when he realized what he had said, "I don't want us to just stop talking. Just like that. You’re my best friend."

"It won't be that long,” Tweek tried to reassure, but it wasn’t helping. “Just for a couple of weeks, probably."

"Weeks?"

"Probably."

Craig seriously hated this.

"I gotta go. If I stay here longer, they'll-they'll think we're gonna get back together." Tweek looked around to make sure nobody had been around to hear their conversation. When he saw they were still alone he looked back at Craig. "I’ll see you, I guess." He didn't wait for a response as he quickly turned around and headed back into the cafeteria.

Craig didn't move and stood out in the hallway, alone with empty thoughts.

His chest really fucking hurt.

  
  
  
It didn’t take long for Craig to fall into a depression.

For the rest of the school day, he just stared into space. He wouldn't get involved in any type of conversation, didn't pay attention to any of his classes, and didn't even take a glance when Clyde accidentally walked into one of the school doors.

Whenever anybody asked if he was alright, he would stare at them for a moment before silently walking away.

His chest felt too heavy that it hurt doing anything.

It had finally hit him. He and Tweek are no longer together. 

And not in just a relationship. They no longer able to be together. To talk together, hang together. Craig lost Tweek.

Clyde invited him to come over to Token's place, so that they could distract themselves with video games and forget all their problems for a while.

Normally Craig would have accepted the invitation, since he liked going to Token's place (he has the best television set and the latest gaming system), but he didn't give an answer to Clyde's offer. He simply turned around and headed to his car, alone.

Craig went straight home, ignored his mother's greeting when he entered the house, and headed straight to his room. He locked his door, in case his little sister tried coming in, and hid himself under his blankets.

He didn't want to do anything. He just wanted to stay in bed for the rest of his life, until he grew old, or at least till he got hungry.

Craig didn't realize how much this was going to actually hurt. He knew one day he and Tweek were going to break up. They couldn’t be in a fake relationship forever. But Craig had hoped that right after they break up, they’d just get back together, but as a real official couple and not anything fake. And he definitely didn't think their break up was going to be like this.

He originally planned to stay in bed for the rest of the day and swallow himself in self pity, but, unfortunately, he had homework to do.

Normally Craig could care less about his school work. He strongly believed that school was nothing but bullshit, but he already had a bad record at school and he didn't need the school calling his parents to discuss about his poor performance. Again.

With a loud groan, Craig pulled himself out of bed and dragged himself to his desk. He opened his backpack to take out his school books, when he had realized this was the first time he had opened his bag all day. He was so out of it in class that he didn't bother to do anything and spend all his time with his head on the table and the thought of Tweek running through his mind.

He reached into his bag, planning on taking out his math book, but instead his fingers grabbed onto something else. Curiously, Craig pulled out a light packet from his bag. 

It was one of _those_ packets.

So Craig did receive something from the Asian girls today. Maybe they had snuck the packet inside his bag while he wasn’t paying attention. 

He read the title and immediately frowned. The packet was titled _"How to Win Tweek in 5 Easy Steps"_ and Craig remembered this was the same fanfic he took away from Clyde yesterday. So it wasn't anything new.

He was about to toss the packet in the trash, like he normally does, but curiously got the best of time. The title implied one thing that most of the other stories never have, Craig chasing after Tweek. It was an unusual theme as it was usually always the other way around, with Tweek falling for Craig first. And frankly, it became repetitive and boring. 

The first page only had the title and nothing more. It did’t even have the name of the person who wrote it. 

Pushing his homework thoughts aside, he opened the packet to the second page.

Only four words were written on it.

**_Step one: Call him._ **


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Did you know Clyde cried today? Because we broke up."
> 
> "Did he really?"
> 
> "Yep. Said that we couldn't break up because we needed to adopt kids and name them all Clyde. As if that is ever going to happen."
> 
> "T-Totally," Tweek said, "If anything, we'd name them Token, not Clyde."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Left for two months to a country with no internet connection, or indoor plumbing. Somehow, I survived.

Craig blinked.

Call him. _Call him?_ Was that really all that was written for the first page?

Craig turned back to the cover page to read the title again. How to Win Tweek in 5 Steps.

Wait, was this not another one of those stupid Fanfics? Were these actual steps to winning Tweek over? Did they actually write down five steps on how to win Tweek over? What kind of ridiculous bullshit it this. 

Craig went back to the second page and read the four words one more time. _**Step one:** Call him._

Craig roller his eyes and decided he should just throw the packet away. What kind of stupid idiot actually wrote down five steps to win a person over, especially when that person was Tweek out of all people?

Nobody but him should be trying to win Tweek over. Tweek was _his_. Everyone in town knew that. And even if they’re broken up now, he’s still his. Besides, a phone call as the first step was completely- wait a minute.

_A phone call._

Tweek said that they couldn't talk anymore, in public that is. That they couldn't have people see them together or else they'd be suspected of getting back together.

But that didn't mean they still couldn't _talk_. They were best friends for crying out loud. They’ve been best friends for seven years. And if they couldn't talk in public, well, phones _were_ invited to have conversations too.

Craig dug into his pocket and grabbed his cellphone. He dialed Tweek's number and waited for the other to pick up.

He did after the second ring.

"C-Craig?" Tweek spoke in a low whisper. Something he usually did whenever he was afraid someone would be listening in on his conversation. Tweek had a theory that the government has been hacking into his phone, which is why Tweek tries to avoid using his phone as much as he can.

"Hey, Tweekers." Craig tried to talk calmly, as if his stomach wasn’t totally filled with butterflies due to hearing Tweek's voice again.

"Craig? Oh god, what happened? Did something happen?" Tweek’s voice was slowly getting louder with each word. 

Craig cracked a smile as he leaned into his seat. "No, nothing happened. Why would you think something happened?"

"Because you never call me!" Well, that's because they're usually always together.  Craig never had the need to call him.

Craig didn't respond.

"Craig, I thought- I thought we agreed not to talk for a while. You know, with the Asian girls and all." Tweek was now speaking fast. Clearly the nervous with talking over the phone was getting to him. 

"You said we couldn’t talk in public. Talking over the phone is the most private way we can talk."

"What if they know you called me? What if they bugged our phones and are listening in on us? Just like the government! What if they can hear everything we're saying? Oh Jesus!"

Craig wanted to laugh, but he didn’t want Tweek to get mad at him. They used to always get into arguments whenever Craig wouldn’t take Tweek’s paranoia seriously. "The Asian girls didn't bug our phones. There's no way they'll know we called each other. Besides, it feels weird not being able to talk to you for a whole day. I need my daily dose of Tweek."

That lady comment threw Tweek off for a moment. "R-really?"

"Anyways, did you finish today’s trig homework?" Craig needed to take Tweek’s mind off of the Asian girls for a while. 

"N-no.” Tweek said. He sounded like he was a bit confused about the sudden change of topic. “I was gonna copy Butters tomorrow. Why? Did- did you?"

"No."

"I should have guessed." Tweek muttered.

Craig laughed as he felt his body relaxing into the chair. God, he was only way from Tweek for a day and he already missed his voice so much. Holy hell, he was a sap. 

"Shut up, Tweekers," Craig said jokingly, "I would have started it. But I don't get any of that trigonometry crap."

"Neither do I. That's why-that's why I'm copying Butters."

Craig laughed. He could hear the teasing in Tweek's voice, and he absolutely loved it. "Did you know Clyde wouldn’t stop crying today because of our break up."

"Did he really?" Tweek said with a chuckle.

"Yep. Said that we couldn't break up because we need to adopt kids and name them all Clyde Jr. As if that is was ever going to happen." 

"T-Totally," Tweek said, "If anything, we'd name them Token, not Clyde."

Holy shit, Craig’s heart was doing flips. 

"Are you implying that we're gonna adopt kids some time in the future?"

It was Tweek's turn to laugh out loud, and man, did Craig really enjoy hearing that sound. It was something that was pretty rare. Tweek barely laughed, unless something absolutely funny happened, and even then it was usually nothing more than a chuckle. But Craig noticed over the years that whenever they were together, Tweek was able to laugh more easily. As if he wasn't afraid to laugh out loud.

Tweek said once that he thought his laugh was annoying, to which Craig responded by calling Tweek an idiot. _'I like your laugh.'_

"Figuratively speaking. If we do adopt kids, can we have a girl? I think they're easier to raise."

Craig can imagine Tweek laying on the bed right now, his front facing the ceiling, with the T.V playing in the background so that there'd be background noises. Tweek hates being in the quiet.

"No way," Craig said, "Girls go through that teenage phase crap. I'm not dealing with that bullshit." His sister wasn't even thirteen yet and she was already slamming doors and complaining about every single thing that stood in her way.

"Then I'll adopt kids with someone else. Maybe Jimmy will let me get a girl."

"You seriously aren't going to cheat on me with Jimmy, are you?"

"We're not- we're not together anymore." Tweek went back to a whisper.

That made Craig shut up. For a moment, he had forgotten that they were no longer a couple. The joking felt so natural, he wouldn't have blame himself if he ran up to Tweek the next day and gave him a kiss like he used to do.

"Still," Craig mumbled after a moment of silence, "You can do a lot better than Jimmy."

That made Tweek laugh again, and Craig felt calm once more.

The two spoke a while longer, talking about nothing, and everything. It wasn't like they ever talked about anything interesting, but Craig liked hearing Tweek's voice. Only occasionally would Tweek mention the fact that the government could still be listening in on them.

But Craig was completely content with this. While it wasn’t the same as actually being in the same room as Tweek, talking over the phone was just as good. Being able to hear his voice felt nice. All the anger and annoyance Craig held throughout the day was able to roll off his shoulders just by talking to Tweek.

"Dude, guess what!" Tweek said excitingly, cutting off Craig's story of how Clyde got his jacket stuck to his locker and he was too stupid to take it off, so instead he started crying about it. Eventually Jimmy had to unlock the locker for him.

"What?"

"Asian girls! Today, they didn't give me any of their stories. This is the first time in, like, forever!"

Craig suddenly remembered that he didn't get anything from them either.

"I think it's working- this breaking up thing. I mean, it's only been a day, and maybe they're just too sad to write about anything, but this is the first time that I never gotten anything from them. In seven years! Maybe-maybe they'll stop now! And maybe now I don't have to read about me being a mermaid or an alien or whatever else weird thing they used to make me be."

Although Craig was glad he didn't receive any of the Asian girls stuff either, he wasn't happy with that fact that he was no longer with Tweek.

Their fake relationship was the only excuse Craig had to hold Tweek's hand without anyone questioning it. And excuse to kiss him before and after every class period. To sleep over his house and on the same bed. To wake up with him the next morning and see Tweek's already messy hair even messier and to be the first to hear his morning voice.

It was an excuse to drive Tweek home everyday after school. To take Tweek out on dates, whether it was to school games or just a trip to the coffee shop.

It was an excuse for Craig to spend more time with Tweek than he did with the other guys. An excuse so that nobody else would try to go after Tweek, because Tweek was his and only his. An excuse to keep his crush for the blonde boy all to himself, because he already had Tweek.

And hell, he wanted Tweek back.

"I don't know," Craig said. He glanced over to the 5 Steps packet that was laying on his desk. "I got a handful of them today."

"R-really?"

Craig didn't like lying to Tweek. But maybe it was worth it this time. Maybe Tweek will think this plan of his wasn’t working and offer to get back together.  "Yeah. And they're pretty depressing. It's like that time when we broke up back in elementary school. How they still drew that Yaoi crap, but had us being mad at each other. But this time they're writing stories about our break up."

"Oh god, seriously?!" Tweek was freaking out, Craig could tell.

"Yep," Craig said, while popping the "p" to add effect. He glanced down at the Fic that made him make this phone call in the first place. "They're even making steps on how to get us back together. It's pretty intense. Creepy, but intense."

"Oh Jesus!" Tweek practically screamed. "I didn't know they were doing that! What if they really do try to get us back together!"

"Ouch. Didn't know being with me was such a bad thing."

It was meant as a joke, to lighten the mood a little, but of course Tweek didn't realize and took it literal. "I didn't mean it like that! You're not bad or anything. I mean anyone would be lucky to be with you. It's just- these stories man. They're getting to my head."

Tweek continued to ramble on, but Craig's mind was only stuck on one thing. _'Anyone would be lucky to be with you.'_

Did that include Tweek, too? Did Tweek consider himself lucky when they were dating, even if it was all fake? Would Tweek consider himself lucky if they ever do decide to date for real? Or was that some bullshit Tweek just said to make him feel better, which Craig really hoped wasn't the case.

"Craig? Are you- are you still there?"

That grabbed Craig from his thoughts, but he wasn't fully paying attention anymore. "Yeah. I'm here."

"So what are we going to do!"

"Huh?"

"About the Asian Girls! I thought- I thought breaking up was going to make them stop writing. I guess I was wrong..."

Maybe this was the right time to offer to get back together. Craig could lie saying that having them write stories about their relationship was a lot better than having them write about their break up. How, like last time they broke up, it was better to not have anyone get depressed over their relationship, even if it’s just the Asian girls who still care about them. He could lie saying that the rest of town could follow suit and to go back into a depression if they don't get back together. Besides, if one more person ask Craig if he's okay, he's going to murder them.

"Maybe we should-"

"Maybe we need to give it time!" Tweek said, completely cutting Craig off.

"Huh?"

"I mean, it's just been a day, right? What if- what if it's just the shock factor? The Asian girls, they might not know how to deal with the news about us. What if, what if in a week or two they'll stop? They'll get used to the idea that we're not getting back together and then maybe they'll move on!"

"Tweek-"

"Oh shit. I forgot I gotta finish my chores. My dad's gonna be up my ass about it. Uh, I'll- I'll talk to you later, I guess."

Craig sighed. "Sure."

Tweek hung up, leaving Craig alone with his thoughts.

He glanced down at the Fic on his table again, and frowned. Call him, huh? What kind of bullshit was that? Calling him only made it worst. Now there's really no chance that he and Tweek could get back together, even as a fake couple. He shouldn't have called. He shouldn't have even opened that stupid Fic. He should have just stayed under his covers and wallow in his own misery like normal people do after a break up.

There was a knock at his bedroom door, and Ruby’s voice could be heard on the other side of the door "Dinner’s ready!”

Craig shot the Fic one last glare before heading downstairs for dinner. At the end he spent dinner staring at his food and feeling sorry for himself.

\---

Craig came to school late the next day.

He claimed it was because he overslept, but the reality was that he couldn't sleep a wink last night. Whenever he closed his eyes, a blonde twitchy boy would appear in his mind and so he had to keep them open, before his mind went somewhere he really didn't want it to go.

This resulted in not having any energy to go to school in the morning, so Craig ended up getting to school a little after 3rd period.

"Dude, you look like a fucking mess," Was the first thing Clyde said when he saw him.

It was true that having almost no sleep for two nights in a row wasn't going to make you the liveliest looking person around, but Craig kind of hoped nobody was going to point it out. He should have remembered that there was never hope when it came to Clyde.

"Tell me something I don't know," Craig muttered. Craig was making his was to his locker when he bumped into Clyde, who then started to trail after him.

"Dude, is it about Tweek?"

Craig wanted to flip Clyde off, but he was too tired to do so. So instead he settled with a, "Fuck you."

"I'm being serious," Clyde said, "If this break up with Tweek is bothering you so much, why not talk to Tweek about it?"

"Why the fuck would I talk to Tweek about my break up with him?" Besides, Tweek didn't want the two of them to be seen talking to each other anyways. "It's not even about that, alright?"

"So why does it look like you're getting your soul sucked out of you with each passing day?"

This time Crag did flip him off.

"Look, as your best friend-"

"Token is my best friend."

"- it's my job to make sure you're okay. I know this break up is hard for you right now. You haven’t looked this bad since Stripe."

Craig groaned out loud and turned to face his friend. He was already annoyed, and the mention of his dead pet just heated him up even more. "It's not hard, okay? So, Tweek broke up with me. I don't care. My life doesn't revolve around him, alright?"

"Wait. Broke up with you? I thought it was a mutual break up."

Shit. Clyde wasn't supposed to know about that. Nobody was. If people found out that Tweek was the one who called it off, they’ll never leave Craig alone. He’ll spend the rest of the school year getting sympathetic looks from everyone, including the adults.

"Tweek broke up with you? Dude, that changes so many things! And here I thought Tweek was taking it just as bad as you are."

Craig rolled his eyes and went back to walking towards his locker.

"Bro, you gotta do something. Win him back. Why'd he break up with you? Were you being an asshole again? Dude, I told you Tweek was gonna break up with you if you kept acting like a dick. Tweek might like dicks but he clearly doesn't want to date one."

"I wasn't being a dick,” Craig mumbled, and for once he was actually telling the truth. “Besides, it's none of your damn business. Forget I said anything."

The two finally made it to Craig's locker. His opened the locker and threw his bookbag inside. There was no need for it. He already missed half of his class, might as well skip the rest and hang out at the parking lot or something. Maybe the Goth kids could sell him some cigs. He hasn't smoked in months, mainly because Tweek didn't like the smell of cigarettes on Craig's clothes.

But now Tweek wasn't going to be able to have a say in it.

"Want me to talk to Tweek? Maybe I can convince him to rethink this break up."

"Dude," Craig said, "Why are you so worked up about this? It's a break up. I'm not dying. Look, I didn't sleep because I was watching reruns of Red Rider last night. You know how I get with that show. I'm fine."

All of that was a lie, but anything to get Clyde to shut up.

Clyde didn't say anything but instead scanned Craig from his head to his toes and back. The bell rang, and the hallway began to fill up with students going to their next class.

"I'll see you later," was all Craig said before slamming his locker door shut and headed towards the back of the school.

Craig didn't see Tweek at all that day. Probably because he cut all his classes and spent the day hanging with a group of people who were more depressing than he was.

On the bright side, The Goth kids did give Craig a pack of cigarettes.

On the downside, Craig smoked them all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the _Fanfic_. The fanfic that supposedly listed five steps into winning Tweek over. The same fanfic that gave Craig the terrible idea to call Tweek that one night. And now he can't seem to stop calling him. Go figure.
> 
> Craig leaned over from his bed and grabbed the packet off of his desk. He scowled at the front of the page. Craig was honestly considering to either burn or shred this stupid packet, that way it would be completely gone forever and never haunt him again.
> 
> But Craig was a curious bastard who can never learn his lesson.

Craig hadn’t plan on calling Tweek again. He really didn’t. His plan was to go home, change his clothes so that his mom wouldn't notice the heavy smell of cigarettes on him, and maybe take a nap so he can finally get some sleep for once.

Craig wasn't in the mood to do anything else. He wasn't in the mood to answer any of Clyde's or Token's texts, which they’ve been sending all day. He wasn't in the mood to eat dinner when his mom called for him later that night. And he wasn't even in the mood to curse Ruby out when she barged in his room looking for a ruler for her homework.

He just wanted to take a nap.

And to hear Tweek's voice.

Another day went by without talking to Tweek and it was beginning to drive Craig insane. He spent the whole day cutting class that Craig didn't even get to see Tweek at all, something that he wasn’t used to. 

And so while sitting on his bed, ignoring his mother’s constant calls to come down and eat dinner, Craig tried to control the urge of dialing Tweek's number. But it was too late because before he knew it, Craig could already hear Tweek's voice saying "H-hello" on the other side of the phone.

"Hey, Tweekers."

"C-Craig? You’re calling again? Did something really happen this time? School- you weren't in school today! Something happened, oh god! What happened?" Tweek was already in panic mode.

Craig honestly loved it when Tweek worried over him. It made him feel... wanted. Like somebody actually cared.

"Relax," Craig said. His body was facing the ceiling while he stared up at the glow-in-the-dark solar system stickers he had on the ceiling.

He and Tweek stuck them up there together when they were eleven, after Craig's dad gave it to him as a birthday present. Now Craig complains about them all the time, always telling Tweek that the lights from the stickers annoy him when he sleeps.

Tweek always answers with, "If you don't like them, just take them down." To which Craig always responds with, "Fine, I will." But Craig knows he's not going to. They remind him of Tweek.

"Everything's fine. I was at school today. I just was... cutting class."

"Craig!" Tweek practically screamed, "You know you can't cut class! What if the principle finds out?! She said she'll suspend you if she catches you cutting class again. Oh god! I thought- I thought you said you weren't gonna cut anymore."

"I said that while we were dating. I don't need to keep any of our promises now that we broke up."

Tweek was quiet for a moment and Craig had to check to make sure he was still on the line.

He was.

"Wait, does-does that mean you were... Were you hanging out with the Goth Kids? Jesus, Craig. Don't tell me you cut class to smoke again, right? Right?"

Luck would have it that Craig coughed the moment Tweek asked that question. Craig tried to play it off, muttering a "No," while clearing his throat, in hopes that Tweek didn't hear it.

"Jesus, Craig! That crap can kill you! You said you weren't going to smoke anymore! Don't you know that can give you lung cancer!"

Craig took enough health classes to know how much damage cigarettes could do to a person, but it wasn't like he really cared.

The only reason he even started smoking in the first place was because of a dare Clyde made when they were fourteen. The two of them found a pack that belonged to Clyde’s dad and Clyde bet ten bucks that Craig would’t have the balls to try one out. Craig became hooked on it since that day.

Tweek would always get mad whenever Craig smoked. It usually ended with the two getting into an argument about it, with Tweek eventually ignoring him until Craig promised he wouldn't do it again. Craig wasn’t addicted to it, and he had the self control to stop whenever he wanted, so he didn’t have an issue promising Tweek he’d quit cold turkey.

"Dude, what the hell," Tweek was still rambling on, "Did you call me again just to give me a heart attack? Jesus Christ, dude."

Honestly, Craig would have let Tweek lecture him for hours. He didn't mind at all. Hearing Tweek's voice worrying about him made Craig feel good inside. But it wasn't the same when it was about Craig's smoking. He hated being lectured about his smoking, especially by Tweek. The other guys weren’t a big fan of Craig’s smoking habit either, but Tweek was the most vocal about his dislike towards it.

"It was just half a pack. Relax. I’m not dead." Craig was lying. He had smoked the whole pack, and probably would have smoked more if he had the money for another pack.

"Yet!"

Craig rolled his eyes. He turned so that he was laying on his side and facing the wall. "Are you always going to spend your life worrying about everything?" He already knew the answer, but Craig still asked anyways.

"Dude! You don't know what can happen if you don't keep your guard up. Man, the world is scary as shit. People die every day, dude! Some by smoking!”

Craig kind of wanted to laugh about that. Not about the people dying part, but the general idea that Tweek's biggest fear is dying. Tweek was scared of everything.

"True," Craig commented, "But not everything is worth freaking out about."

"Yeah? Like what, huh?"

Craig thought for a moment, but realized this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere. Tweek was scared of everything, and there was nothing that could change that.

"Hey, wanna hear something funny that happened to Clyde today?"

A moment passed before an excited Tweek answered with, "Fine."

\---

Craig called again the night after that. And the night after that. And the night after that.

Their conversations weren't that different each night. It was always the same with Craig and Tweek talking about their day, while cracking some jokes here and there, and eventually ending when Craig fell asleep at some time past three in the morning. Then it would happen all over again the next day. Some days Tweek would just ramble on about something and even if Craig had no idea what he was talking, he just liked to sit there and listen to Tweek’s voice. 

Weeks went by like that, and nobody knew about their little conversations. It was a "secret", or that's what Tweek called it. Craig really didn't care. As long as he got to talk to Tweek. 

But eventfully the late phone calls weren't enough for Craig.

Almost a month has passed since their break up, and the two of the still haven't spoken to each other face to face. Occasionally Craig would try to say hi to him in the hallways, but Tweek would only stare at him before turning around and rushing away.

It made Craig angry. And sad.

"Mhm."

Craig was sitting in his car, the power off with only the radio playing softly in the background. He was in the parking lot of the grocery store while his mom was inside doing some last minute shopping for dinner. Craig tried to protest coming, since it meant cutting his talking time with Tweek, but his mother wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

The phone was on speaker, and Tweek was on the other line.

"Seriously, dude! Stan-he just punched Kyle in the face. I don't- I don't know why, but he did it. In front of all of us. And Kyle- Kyle just stood there and didn't do anything. It's was crazy, man."

"Huh," Craig mumbled. His eyes were locked on a couple not too further away, cuddling and holding hands in front the grocery store. Fuck them, being all happy. Like they were trying to rub it in Craig’s face.

"Yeah, and then Cartman tried making a joke about how it was Kyle's fault for being a Jew but Kyle- he was too mad to even say anything to shut him up. I don't even know what they were fighting about, but Stan and Kyle haven't spoken since then."

They weren't the only two people who haven't spoken to each other, Craig bitterly thought to himself.

"Oh."

Of course, Craig could care less about Stan and them's problems. He had no interest in anything they did. But now that Tweek hangs out with them on a regular basis, they're always somehow involved with a majority of Tweek's stories. It usually involved Stan and them wanting to do something dumb and illegal and Tweek being dragged along with them.

"Dude, are you- are you okay?" Tweek asked. "You- you haven't said much. Am I talking too much? Oh Jesus, I’m talking too much." Tweek sounded genuinely worried and it only made Craig feel guilty for his lack of responses.

Craig frowned. The guy now had his arm around the girl's shoulders as she leaned into him. "You're not talking too much. You’re fine. I’m fine." He was tired of saying that. The kids at school are still constantly asking him if he’s okay because of the break up and it’s a surpris he hasn’t murdered anyone.

"Oh. Are you- are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. So-uh. How- how was your day, Craig?"

It sucked, Craig wanted to say. It sucked because Craig saw Tweek four times in the halls, but couldn't say anything to him, couldn’t even wave to him. It sucked because Craig skipped class to smoke, but the Goth Kids wouldn’t give him any cigs, so he had to buy some off of that Satan kid, Damien, and his cigarettes were expensive. It sucked because Craig still hasn't received any Fanfics from the Asian girls.

"It was alright."

"T-that's good."

Craig shrugged. "I guess."

The silence that came afterwards was nothing but awkward, and Craig hated it. He knew it was his fault too. He knew he should be glad that he gets to talk to Tweek, even if it's only through the phone. But Craig has always been a little selfish, and these phone calls weren't enough for him anymore.

He wanted to see Tweek. He really, really wanted to see Tweek. He needed to see Tweek.

"Kyle- Kyle told me you weren't in your English class today. Did- did you skip again?"

Craig rolled his eyes. He forgot he shared a class with that dumbass Jew. Fuck Kyle for snitching on him. But why was Kyle even talking about him in the first place? Especially to Tweek?

"I didn't skip," Craig lied, "I didn't feel well so I spent the class in the nurse's room."

"Oh god! Are you okay? Are you sick?"

"I'm fine."

Tweek was obviously unconvinced as he spent the next couple of minutes hassling over Craig's health and how Craig needed to be more careful and "there are disease everywhere, dude! You gotta use hand sanitizer for everything now!". Craig had to reassure him at least six times that he was fine and it was just a small headache. Maybe that nurse lie wasn't the best lie to tell Tweek. But he’d be even more upset if he found out Craig was actually cutting class. 

Craig saw his mom walking out of the grocery store and knew it was time to say goodbye to Tweek for the night.

"Look, I gotta go."

"O-oh. Okay well, good night! And, uh, I hope everything gets better."

"I told you," Craig mumbled, "It was just a headache. I'm fine. You don't have to worry."

"I- I know!" Tweek responded quickly. His voice then slowed down for the next words, "It's just, you seem a little out of it today. Even in the halls, you looked like something was on your mind. I don't- I don't know if something's going on or not, but whatever it is, I'm sure it'll get better. And if you need anything, um, Im here.”

So Tweek did notice him in the halls. Even over the phone, Tweek still understood Craig more than anybody else.

"Thanks." Was all Craig said before hanging, just as his mom entered the car with her bags full of groceries.

"Who were you talking on the phone with?" She asked when she noticed Craig putting his phone back into his pocket.

“No one.”

 

The drive home was quiet, like it normally always is. Craig’s mind was stuck on Tweek, and he realized that he has been thinking about Tweek a lot more recently. That clearly needs to stop.

Once they arrived back at home, Craig ignored his mother’s announcement that dinner was going to be ready soon, and headed straight to his bedroom. He wasn’t planning to eat dinner anyways.

Avoiding the fact that he still had some unfinished homework inside his backpack, Craig threw himself onto his bed and let out a long, tired sigh.

He had the urge to call Tweek again, just to hear his voice once more, but Craig knew it wasn't a good idea. He couldn't keep relying on these stupid phone calls. And if he wanted to get over Tweek, he should stop talking to him all together. The problem was, Craig didn’t want to get over Tweek.

So instead, he plugged in his headphones, turned up the music on his phone and hoped that it was enough to block out any more thoughts of that blonde spazz.

But it didn't work.

It just made him think of those times when he and Tweek would spend the afternoon listening to each other's music. Tweek has a weird taste when it came to music, and will normally only listen to nice, calm ballads. He claims that it helps with his nerves by soothing him. Craig, on the other hand, was more into upbeat music, something that you can nod your head to. Tweek would only listen to Craig’s music if it was at a low volume. Craig used to tease Tweek about his music, but over time he actually began to appreciate it. 

The two would sit on Tweek's bed, plug in their earphones, and just listen to each other's music.

“Damn it,” Craig muttered while pulling off his earphones. “I need another distraction.”

He was in the mood to smoke, but wasn't in the mood to get out of bed. Plus, he smoked all the cigs he brought off from Damien already, and didn't have any money to buy more. He wasn’t even at the legal age to buy any in the stores anyways.

Craig looked around the room, hoping that he could find something to take his mind off of Tweek, even if it was just for a while. His eyes landed on a packet that was sitting on his desk.

It was the _Fanfic_. The fanfic that supposedly listed five steps into winning Tweek over. The same fanfic that gave Craig the terrible idea to call Tweek that one night. And now he can't seem to stop calling him. So was it really a terrible idea? 

Craig leaned over from his bed and grabbed the packet off of his desk. He scowled at the front of the page. Craig was honestly considering to either burn or shred this stupid packet, that way it would be completely gone forever and never haunt him again.

But Craig was a curious bastard who can never learn his lesson.

He read the title of the packet once more before slowly turning to the second page.

If the first step in this stupid fanfic (if you can even call it that) was to call Tweek, then what the hell would be step #2? It wasn't like Craig was even going to follow it. He just wanted to take a look. Probably have a good laugh. There was no doubt that step number two was going to be just as bad as the first one.

He read the only four words typed on the page.

_**Step** **two** : See him._

Craig closed the packet, glared at the cover, and then tossed the thing towards the other side of the room. It hit the wall and landed on a pile of Craig’s dirty clothes he had laying on the floor.

See him? How the fuck was Craig supposed to see him when Tweek wouldn't even let Craig go near him? The only time Craig ever does see him is when he spots him at the end of the hall or on the other side of the cafeteria. And that wasn’t enough for Craig. He needed to actually see Tweek, be able to touch him.

Craig isn't even allowed to talk to him in public. Craig's only chance to talk to Tweek was in private with their phone calls. So if Craig wanted to see Tweek, it has to been somewhere where nobody can spot them. Somewhere where they can be alone without worrying about being seen. But where the hell could Craig find a place like that? South Park was a small mountain town. There was no such thing as privacy in this god forsaken place.

Craig threw his blanket over his shoulders and groaned.

This whole break up with Tweek was nothing but hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "When will she start posting longer chapters?"
> 
> The world will never know.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And you're really okay with me and Tweek using this place?”
> 
> “Hey, you might not be my closest friend, but you're a cool kid. And I like Tweek. I want him to be happy. And if making him happy means letting you fuck him in my old tree house, then so be it.”
> 
> Craig remembered why Kenny was his favorite out of Stan and them.
> 
> “But if it doesn't work out with Tweek, you know my dick is always available.”
> 
> But he could still be a horny bastard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I really love Kenny.

“So… do you wanna, like, fuck?”

Craig glared over towards Kenny McCormick, as the other male took a long drag from his cigarette. “What?” Kenny asked when he noticed the look Craig was giving him, “It's just a question. I'm horny as hell and you're available. So what do you say? Yes?”

“Fuck off.”

Kenny scoffed as he took another long drag. “I didn’t hear a no,” he mumbled.

The two were sitting on the steps behind the school, sharing a pack of cigarettes as class went on inside. Not that Craig really cared about his classes anymore. He was never one for learning about chemistry.

“Come on,” Kenny said with a slight grin, “It was just an offer.”

Craig rolled his eyes and took a drag from his cig.

Out of Stan and them, Kenny was probably the only tolerable one that Craig actually didn't mind hanging out with every now and then. Sure, that bastard could get annoying with his horny dick and all, but he gave Craig free cigarettes whenever they did hang out, so Craig couldn’t really complain. Plus, Kenny was able to appreciate the little things in life, probably cause he grew up not having much to begin with.

“But why not?” Kenny whined after a moment of silence, “You’re not taken anymore. My dick is hard. Your ass is free. Let’s put one and one together and just do it.” He wiggled his eyebrows and laughed when Craig gave him the bird.

“Seriously, dude. Fuck off.”

Craig was used to having Kenny practically beg him for sex all the time. Ever since he came out as pan-sexual back in middle school, Kenny has practically fucked everything that had a hole he could stick his dick through. And yet oddly enough, he had this huge interest in Craig that he never tried to hide. Craig knew it was purely sexual though, and that Kenny doesn’t want anything romantic. As far as Craig was aware, everybody Kenny hooked up with was just sexual.

While Craig was still dating Tweek, it wasn’t strange for Kenny to come up to them with hungry eyes. “Better keep your eyes on this one,” he’d tell Tweek with a sly smile, “You never know when someone might want to come and take him away.” That only resulted with Tweek freaking out because he thought Kenny was talking about someone wanting to kill Craig, and not realizing that Kenny was really talking about how he wouldn't hesitate to go on his knees if Craig asked him to. Tweek was completely oblivious of how much Kenny wanted Craig.

Craig coudn't lie though, Kenny has gotten a lot better looking over the years. He was a little shorter than Craig, but he he had a nice built from working with his dad at the construction site during the weekends and school breaks. And now that he doesn’t wear that ugly orange coat that always covered his face, and instead uses a face mask, Kenny has gotten a lot more admires chasing after him. Kenny could find somebody to fuck with a simple press of a button.

But Craig never took Kenny seriously and would always just brush him off whenever he came asking for sex.

“Dude, don't tell me.You’re still not over Tweek.” It was more of a statement and less than a question, and it pissed Craig off the way Kenny said it.

“I don’t need to tell you anything.”

That made Kenny laugh out loud. He took another puff of his cigarette and blew the smoke towards Craig’s direction. He knew it was going to piss Craig off, which is why he did it. “Hasn’t it been, like, two months since you guys broke it off? Who knew ‘stonecold Craig’ actually has a heart.”

“Well, we dated for seven years. What the do you expect?” By now, the assumption of Craig still not being over Tweek became something Craig was used it. He no longer denied it when people asked if he wanted to get back together with his ex, but he didn’t admit to it either. He wondered if people ask Tweek the same thing. How would Tweek respond to that question?

Kenny chuckled. “True. But still, that doesn’t mean you can’t go out and hook up with other people. You just gotta fuck them and imagine it’s Tweek. I do that all the time. I mean, I imagine it's other people, not Tweek. But now that I think about it, Tweek's pretty hot. I should start imagining him.”

If it wasn’t the fact that Kenny was giving him free cigarettes, Craig would have already walked away from this annoying conversation, not before kicking Kenny's ass though for talking about Tweek like that. “Everything doesn’t have to be about sex, you know. And I swear to god, you better keep Tweek out of your dirty mind.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” Kenny smirked at Craig before putting out his cigarette with the bottom of this shoe. “If you’re still hung over Tweek, why not just get back together with him?”

Craig let out a bitter scoff. Kenny makes it sound like it’s easy. “How the hell can I get back together with him when I can’t even get near him. He doesn’t even like being in the same room together.”

“Holy shit, was your break up that bad? What, didn’t satisfy him enough?”

Craig flipped him off again. Holy shit, Kenny could be annoying sometimes. “For your information, me and Tweek ended it on good terms.”

“That’s not what I heard. I heard he was the one who called it off. Surprising too, since I never knew Tweek is actually able to make decisions on his own. I’m kinda proud of him.”

It was a mistake to accidentally tell Clyde that Craig was the one who got dump. It didn’t take along for the whole school to find out, because for some reason Clyde never knew how to shut up about other people’s business. He needs to kick Clyde's ass for that.

“It was his idea, yes,” Craig admitted bitterly, “But that’s not the point. The point is that there’s no hard feelings between me and Tweek. We’re still friends and stuff. But he’s so freaked out about what people would say if they saw us together, he doesn’t want to be seen with me in public.”

The one thing Craig did like about talking with Kenny is that Kenny never sugar coats anything. He says whatever is on his mind and Craig can actually admire that about him. Plus, Kenny doesn't go around talking about other people's business, so he knows whatever he says now is going to just stay between the two of them.

“A guy who doesn’t want to be seen with you in public isn’t a guy worth chasing after. I, on the other hand, would suck you off in the middle of the hallway if you want me to. Let the whole world know I’m gay for Craig.”

But sometimes Kenny can be a _bit too_ straightforward.

“As flattering as that is, and it’s really not, Tweek is worth it.”

“Man, what’s so good about that twinky Tweek anyways when you can be getting it on with Kinky Ken.”

“Oh god, you did not just call yourself Kinky Ken.”

Kenny reached into his pocket to pull out the pack of cigarettes. He pulled out another stick and reached into his pocket again for a lighter. This was his fourth cigarette. “If the only thing getting in your way to getting back with Tweek is the public eye, then the solution is simple. Just meet up with him when no one is around.”

Craig thought back to the second step in that stupid fanfic. _Step two: See him._

“How the hell can I do that? It’s South Park. No matter where we go, there’s always going to be at least one person there to see us.” That’s the curse for living in a small town where everybody here seems to have too much time on their hands.

Kenny didn’t say anything, because he knew it was true. South Park was such a small place that everybody knew everybody. There was no such thing as secrets in this town. If Tweek and Craig wanted to be alone together, they needed to go somewhere outside of South Park. Somewhere isolated from society. Even the neighboring towns are too close.

“Dude,” Kenny said suddenly when an idea popped into his head, “I know where you guys can go.”

Craig raised an eyebrow. “Do you really?”

“Yeah, dude. I know a place that nobody else from South Park knows about. It’s the perfect place for you and Tweek to meet up. You guys can fuck each other all night and not worry about anybody seeing or hearing you two. Actually, scratch that hearing part. Tweek looks like he's a screamer. I'm totally into screamers.”

Craig stared at Kenny suspiciously while completely ignoring the comment about how loud Tweek is in bed. “What’s the catch?”

“Suck me off.”

“No.”

“Alright, let me suck you off then.”

“How about I do your math homework for a week instead.”

“Deal.”

The two shook on it before going back to focusing on their cigarettes. Despite Kenny being a bastard who likes to talk about his dick 90% of the time, he was a reliable guy. If Kenny said he knew a good secret place for him and Tweek, Craig knew that Kenny was speaking the truth.

“So, we’re not gonna fuck, huh.”

“Nope.”

“Fine, whatever. I’ll go fuck Butters instead.”

Craig shot Kenny a disgusted look. “Dude, what the hell. Don’t tell me that.”

Kenny laughed at the look Craig gave him.

"By the way," Craig said after Kenny's laugh died down, "Tweek whimpers. He's not a screamer."

Kenny just smirked before taking another long drag. Craig followed suit.

\--

Craig stood in front of Kenny’s house, a cigarette in one hand, his phone on the other. It was after school and Craig has been standing out here for about twenty minutes now, even though Kenny said he was going to be out a while ago. Any longer and Craig will just call quits and go home.

Craig was staring at Tweek’s number, contemplating on whether it was a good idea to call him right now or not. He wasn’t sure how much longer it was going to take for Kenny to come outside, but Craig had the serious urge to hear Tweek’s voice, even if it was just for a few minutes. He didn't even get to see Tweek at all today. Tweek has been taking different routes to get to his classes, so the two don't even pass each other in the hallways anymore. Craig wasn’t sure why Tweek was trying to avoid him so much. Maybe now that it’s out that Craig was the one that got dumped, people are probably seeing Tweek as the bad guy.

When he finally decided that it was better to wait and call him later when he gets home, he suddenly received a text.

It was from Tweek. It read: _Can I call you?_

Craig didn’t waste another second before pressing the call button.

“C-Craig?” Tweek said through the phone before the second ring, “That was fast.”

“I was already looking at my phone before you texted me.” It wasn’t a lie, and it at least didn’t make Craig look like he was staring at Tweek's number for the past ten minutes, which he totally was. “What’s up? Why did you want to call me?”

Tweek didn’t say anything and Craig knew it was because he was thinking of how to say whatever was on his mind. Tweek normally needed to say something at least ten times in his head before he could say it out loud.

“I don’t- I don’t know? I mean, I wanted to call you but I was scared in case you were busy or something so I sent you that text instead but I wasn’t really thinking and I didn’t think you were going to respond so fast- and Oh Jesus. I didn’t think this through, oh god. I’m sorry! Forget I sent the text! Just forget it!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Craig said, cutting Tweek off from his rambling, “What the- You’re freaking out than usual, Tweek. I wouldn’t have answered if I was busy. If there’s something you need to tell me, I’m all ears. I’m always all ears for you.”

“It nothing really, it's just..” Tweek hesitate for a moment, and Craig could already imagine him darting his eyes back and forth to make sure nobody was listening in on him. “I'm watching t.v right now and a cereal commercial came on and I don't know why but it reminded me of you and then I had the sudden urge to call you but I don't know why and - oh Jesus. Just forget it man, just forget everything!”

Before Craig even had the chance to think of a reply, the call was cut. Tweek had hung up.

He was about to call back but there was a tap on his shoulder and Craig turned his head to make eye contact with a smirking Kenny.

“I was anticipating some phone sex there, but I guess not.”

Craig flipped him off. “What the hell took you so long? You were supposed to be outside half an hour ago.” Craig stuffed his phone into his pocket. He was going to have to call Tweek later.

“I was helping the little sis with a project. Plus,” Kenny held up a small zip-lock bag that was filled with a green substance. Craig didn’t even need to look at it to know what it was, the smell of it was strong enough. “Couldn't leave this at home either. It's been a while since we hung out together after school. We gotta celebrate it, ya know.”

“Weed? Seriously?” Craig couldn’t remember the last time he had smoked weed with Kenny. 

“Don't tell me you're not down to smoke it later.”

Craig tolled his eyes. “I never said I wasn't.”

 

The walk to Kenny’s “secret” place didn't take as long as Craig had expected. From Kenny’s house, the two entered the woods right besides Kenny’s house and it only took about ten minutes just to get to their final location. Kenny spent the whole time trying to convince Craig to having a threesome with him and some other dude from North Park, and Craig spent the whole time rejecting the offer and flipping Kenny off. The more they walked the further they were getting from the main roads, and the quiter it was becoming.

Craig didn't even noticed when they arrived at the location until Kenny stopped walking.

“You’re fucking kidding me," Craig said when he realized what Kenny's "secret" place was. He had no idea how he didn’t notice the thing before, but now looking up at it, it was all he could keep his eyes on.

Kenny smirked. “What? I said I knew a place where you and Tweekers can meet up, and here it is.”

Craig stared up at the run down tree house. The thing looked like it hasn't been used in years and was a completely safety hazard. Words were written on the house, from things like “Fuck Kyle” to “Suck my balls” . It wasn't that high off the floor and the ladder to the door looked like it was going to break at any moment.

“Me and the gang used to play in here all the time,” Kenny said as he admired the crappy thing, “But we stopped when we hit middle school. Hasn't been used since then. Nobody else knows about it either.”

“It looks like it's about to fall apart.”

“Don't worry. It's sturdy.”

Craig took the time to get a better look at the tree house. It was big enough for him and Tweek to fit in, that's for sure. But not enough if a third person wanted to join. And to Craig’s satisfaction, it was completely away from society. Being in the woods and all, there was no way anybody from South Park was going to see them in there.

“There’s a lock for both in and out. I got the key so I can give it to you later. It's a perfect place for you two to meet up, if I do say so myself.”

Craig took one last look at the tree house and then at Kenny. “If you completely ignore the safety hazard of just being near the thing, I guess it’s not that bad. It could be worst. But I'm not exactly thrilled of the fact that Stan and them know about this place too.” He didn’t need any issues with that group for using their childhood play thing.

“Like I said, don't worry. We haven't used it in years. Plus, It's locked and I'm the only one with the key, so if any of them even try to go in, I would know about it.”

“And you're really okay with me and Tweek using this place?”

“Hey, you might not be my closest friend, but you're a cool kid. And I like Tweek. I want him to be happy. And if making him happy means letting you fuck him in my old tree house, then so be it.”

Craig remembered why Kenny was his favorite out of Stan and them.

“But if it doesn't work out with Tweek, you know my dick is always available.”

But he could still be a horny bastard.

\--

Ignoring his mother’s call for dinner became a normal thing for Craig. His mother didn't appreciate it, but she knew Craig would always get something to eat during the middle of the night, so at least he didn’t go the night with an empty stomach. She assumes that this habit must have developed due to his break up with Tweek and she figured she should give her son some space and time to get over it. 

“Dinner is ready,” she said the moment Craig walked into the house. She noticed his red eyes and the fact that he smelled a little funky. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it smelled like though.

“Not hungry,” Craig mumbled. But he walked over to one of the kitchen cabinet answering grabbed the box of pop tarts they had stored in it. He then make his way to his sister and sat down next to her on the couch. His mom rolled her eyes as she headed back into the kitchen.

Ruby sniffed the air before glaring over at Craig. “Are you high?” She could clearly smell the weed all over him.

“No,” Craig said as he tried to hold on the giggle that tried to escape. “No.” He said again. He reached into the box, pulled out one of the pop tarts, and stuffed it into his mouth as if the thing was trying to escape out of his hand.

Ruby rolled her eyes. She looked into the kitchen from the couch to make sure their mother wasn't listening. “Don't let mom find out. She'll kick your ass again.”

“Don’t worry. I got this.” Craig said. He was talking twice as slow, which highlighted the nasal voice he never really managed to outgrow from when he was a kid. He always hated his voice because of it.

Ruby scrunched up her nose at him and frowned. “Ugh. Go to your room. You’re stinking up the whole living room.”

That only made Craig finally let out that giggle he was fighting so hard to keep in. Ruby scrunched up her face even more. Craig never giggles. “Seriously, get the hell out of here. You're creeping me out.”

Craig tried to scowl, but it didn’t come out right and instead made it look like he was trying to hold in a sneeze. “Fine,” he spat. He leaned in closer to Ruby and laughed, “You’re such a pain in the ass.”

“Fuck off.”

Craig laughed again before getting up and stumbled his way up stairs to his room, leaving the box on the couch behind him. It took him a while to open his bedroom door because he could have sworn the knob kept moving every time he tried reaching for it. He had to eventually squint his so that the knob would stop moving. 

The last time Craig smoked was only a few months ago. Tweek was out of town for a few days to visit his Aunt who was having surgery and Craig was forced to be by himself for the first time in a long time. With Tweek away, Craig was bored as fuck and needed something to distract him from the fact that his boyfriend was three states away. So when Clyde hit him up saying that Kenny had hooked him up, Craig was at Clyde’s place in a heartbeat. Craig doesn't really like the burning feeling of smoking weed and honestly prefer cigarettes instead, but the pot was an easy way to kill time while Tweek was away.

Speaking of Tweek, Craig still needed to call him.

It took Craig forever to find his sweater to take out his phone, until he realized he was still wearing it. While laughing at himself, he pulled out his phone from the pocket. He miraculously managed to find Tweek’s number and pressed the call button without a second thought. 

He tried to compose himself, because he knew how pissed Tweek would be if he found out that Craig was high. Tweek wasn’t against the idea of smoking weed, but he’d rather Craig didn’t do it. 

“C-Craig?”

“Tweekers,” Craig began slowly. He wanted to laugh at how the name rolled off his tongue, but managed to keep it in. “Sup.”

“Oh god, is this about earlier? Dude, I told you to forget it. It- It was a fluke, okay? It didn’t happen, okay? It didn’t happen.”

Tweek was talking too fast, and normally Craig didn’t have a problem with it. But his mind was so fucked up right now, he was having a hard to processing what Tweek was saying. “Huh?”

“Oh god, you hate me now.”

This time Craig did laugh. “I don’t hate you, dude. I could never.”

“I wasted your time earlier. I wanted to call you even though I didn’t have a reason. I’m so dumb, man! I just- I just wanted to talk to you. Is that weird? Oh god, that’s totally weird. But I really wanted to talk to you so I sent that text without thinking and before I could take it back, you call me, and oh Jesus.”

“Dude, dude, dude,” Craig said, holding in his laughter once again. He tried to sit on his desk chair, but completely missed and almost fell butt first onto the floor. He let out a laugh as he tried to get back up. “Dude,” he said into the phone, “I fell.” He laughed again.

“You what?” Tweek asked in confusion.

“I fell,” Craig repeated. He then whispered the next words, “My ass missed the seat.”

“Are- are you okay, Craig?”

“I feel ah-ma-zing.” Craig put a lot of emphasis in the last word and laughed at how bad his voice sounded. He really hated his voice.

“Okay?” Tweek was obviously a little skeptical with that answer, but decided to brush if off. If Craig said he was okay, Tweek knew to believe him. 

“Uh- anyways. As I saying... The phone call! I was watching a cereal commercial and I don’t know why but it reminded me of you. It was a commercial for corn flakes. You don’t even like corn flakes! But while watching it I thought ‘I wonder what Craig is doing’ and next thing I know I'm texting you asking if I can call you. It-It’s weird, dude. You know? I never really had a thought like that before. But I didn’t see you at school today and you didn’t call me right after school like you normally do so it made me wonder. It’s that weird? Craig?”

There was no answer on the other side of the call. Just heavy breathing.

“C-Craig? Are you there?”

Craig was still there. But he wasn’t listening. He stopped listening a long time ago.

Because he fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Kenny?” Clyde asked in surprise. “You were hanging out with Kenny?”
> 
> “It's not the first time I've hung out with Kenny before,” Craig grumbled, “And why the hell do you guys care? It's not like I only have to hang out with you two all the time.”
> 
> Token and Clyde exchanged a look. “That's not it,” Token continued slowly, “It’s just, people don't just _hang out_ with Kenny without something, you know, happening. What if Tweek finds out?”

Craig hated himself.

He fucking hated himself.

Only an idiot like him would get so high that he falls asleep in the middle of a conversation with the guy he’s practically in love with, and yet still manage to wake up the next day two hours late to school. Waking up with the same clothes he had on yesterday, Craig glared over at the clock sitting on his bedside table. He wouldn’t have woken up so late if Craig actually remembered to set up an alarm.

Craig grabbed his phone that was laying beside him on the bed. There was only a few new messages from Clyde, who was probably asking why the hell he wasn’t in school yet, and one from Kenny. 

There was no messages from Tweek.

With a groan, Craig pulled himself out of bed and headed straight towards the bathroom. He was already late, so there was no point in rushing to get ready. At this point it was pointless in going at all, but missing school meant not seeing Tweek for the day and Craig couldn’t have that. That boy was literally taking over Craig’s life.

He took his sweet time in the shower and took even longer getting dressed once he was out. Both of his parents are already at work, and Ruby should be in school, so nobody was at home to rush him. He made himself breakfast, ate while watching weekday morning cartoons in the living room, threw on the first sweater he found that didn’t smell like heavy cigarettes, and slowly walked out the house with his bookbag over his shoulders. He was now over three hours late to school. Not that he cared.

Craig had an option: to take his car to school like he normally does, or walk.

Walking meant he was going to be even more late. The principal was already up his ass as it is for the amount of times he had cut class last year, and was warned multiple times by her that if he fucked up his attendance record this year, there was going to be dire consequences. Craig wasn’t actually sure what “dire consequences” she meant, but it wasn’t like he was entirely scared to find out. Plus, it was a pretty nice day outside.

The last time Craig walked to school was months before he got his driver's license. Token was the first to start driving, and would always come around to pick the group up in the morning and drop them off later that day. But before that, Craig had to troop it and take the 15 minute walk to get to school. Craig dreaded the walk. Walking meant having to wake up earlier just so he could make it to school on time. It meant physical exercises at 6 in the morning, when the sun itself wasn’t even up, and it meant dragging his feet half way across the town with his eyes barely open and his brain not fully functioning.

But there was one bright side to walking to school every morning. It meant spending more time with Tweek.

Craig always went straight to Tweek’s house every morning and would meet up with the blonde boy outside his house. From there, the two would take the dreaded walk to school together. Sometimes they wouldn’t talk and would just let the morning silence hang between them, other times they wouldn’t shut up and would talk about anything that just popped into their minds at the moment. Sometimes they would walk so close to each other that their shoulders would brush up against each other. But everyday they would always end up making it to school with their hands intertwined with each other.

Craig missed walking to school with Tweek.

The walk to school this time wasn’t as bad as he remembered it used to be. It was probably because the sun was actually out this time and he wasn’t walking while trying to fight off his sleep. It actually felt pretty nice. It also gave Craig the time to clear out his head over what had happened last night.

Craig wasn’t worried about Tweek being mad at him. It wasn’t the first time Craig fell asleep in the middle of their phone conversations, and it probably wouldn’t be the last time either. The thing that was really bothering Craig isn't the fact that he fell asleep, but that he can’t seem to remember anything Tweek had told him last night. He was so high that everything was a blur to him. The only thing he could recall is something about a cereal commercial, but that was about it. Was Tweek telling him something important? Craig could slightly remember Tweek being more jittery than usual.

As much as Craig hated himself for not remembering, he wasn’t going to beat himself up over it either. If it really was that important, then Tweek can tell him later tonight.

To take his mind off of Tweek for once, Craig dug out his phone to check out the messages he received this morning. All of them were from Clyde, so Craig decided to just ignore them like he normally does to Clyde’s texts. He was probably only texting Craig to ask why he wasn’t at school yet, and Craig didn’t want to have to give him an excuse through text. Clyde was an annoying person to text with. Instead, Craig decided to open the only text that wasn’t from Clyde.

 _From Kenny_ : Morning cutie, I need to talk to you about the tree house, so call me when you can (;

Craig grimaced at the “cutie” part. Kenny really needed to stop with all this flirting. Or at least get better nicknames.

Craig decided to just call Kenny right then and there. There was no doubt Kenny wasn’t in class. That kid hasn’t been to class since freshman year. Craig was pretty sure Kenny wasn’t even a student at the High School anymore and only goes there for the hell of it (and for the free lunch). Pressing the call button, Craig held up the phone to his ear and waited for the other male to pick up. It didn’t take long and within the second ring, Craig could hear Kenny’s voice letting out a low “Hello?”

“Did you just wake up?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” He heard Kenny laugh and some shuffling sounds in the background. “You didn’t text me back this morning so I fell back asleep. It’s a shame too, because I had the biggest morning wood-”

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear about your dick right now,” Craig interrupted before Kenny could go into details, “You said you wanted to talk about the tree house.” He was really hoping that Kenny wasn’t going to take back the permission that Craig and Tweek could use it to meet up in secret. He really needed that tree house. It was his only ticket to seeing Tweek again. 

“Oh yeah,” Kenny said. His voice was still raspy from the sleep and Craig couldn't lie, it sounded a bit attractive. But Tweek’s morning voice was ten times better. “So after you went home yesterday, I called Butters to come over and the two of us cleaned out that ratty tree house. Let me tell you, it was a mess in there. Anyways, thanks to us, there’s now enough room for you and Tweek to bone the fuck out each other in there. Trust me, I tested it out already.”

“Oh god. Don’t tell me you and Butters fucked in the tree house.”

“Where do you think I am right now?” Kenny laughed, already imagining the disgusted look Craig was most likely making, “We brought some pillows and blankets and stayed here all night long.”

“Dude, what the fuck. You better sanitized that place before I take Tweek there.”

“Sure. But I won't promise we won't do it again.”

Craig really wished Kenny was next to him so he could punch the crap out of him. Actually, he was pretty glad that Kenny wasn't near by. The last thing Craig wanted to see was the stupid smirk plastered on his good looking face.

“Whatever,” Craig muttered. He could see the school coming up from the distance. “Just sanitize that shit. I don't want Tweek getting near anywhere where you had your dick out.”

“That really limits you to places you can take him then, huh.” Kenny laughed again when he heard Craig scoff into the phone. “Speaking of which, when are you planning on taking pretty boy here anyways?”

Oh god, Craig hadn't thought about that part. Now that he had place to take Tweek, the only thing that was left was to convince him to go to that place. There's no doubt that Tweek was going to decline Craig’s request to take him there himself. He’ll be too scared that people might see them. Craig needed to find a way to take Tweek there without other people witnessing them.

“Mind doing me a favor, Ken?”

Kenny groaned into the phone. “Oh god. I love it when you call me Ken. Fuck. Yeah I'll do you favor. Anything for you, pretty boy.”

\---

Craig made it to school just an hour before lunch period. He decided he might as well spend the next hour behind the school instead of going to class. To his surprise, Clyde and Token were there.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” Clyde and Token were sitting nearby the stairs that the Goth kids usually hang around. The goth kids weren't there today, which probably meant they ditched coming to school again.

“Clyde was freaking out because you didn't show up this morning. I took him out here to clear his mind a little.” Token shot Clyde a look that was mixed with worry and annoyance while at the same time patted his back to relax whatever nerves he had.

“I sent you, like, fifteen texts, dude!” Clyde exclaimed while glaring at Craig. “You could at least, you know, respond to them or something.”

“I won't apologize.” Craig sat down next to Clyde and put a hand on his shoulder, “But I will take the blame for ignoring your texts.”

“Asshole.”

“Craig, what's going on.” It was Token who spoke. This time he was sending Craig a worried look, and Craig wasn't sure why. “You’ve been acting weird lately.”

“How so?” Craig was getting the urge to smoke again. It made him wonder how he was able to quit for so long before he and Tweek broke up.

“I mean, we haven't been seeing you around lately. You're cutting class a lot. You always skip lunch with us. You smell like cigarettes all the time. And now you're ignoring Clyde’s texts.”

Craig wanted to roll his eyes. He should have expected this conversation to eventually come up. Sure, he hasn't been to almost any of his classes in over two months. And it takes Craig forever to find a shirt that doesn't smell like he just walked out a burning building. But he always ignored Clyde’s texts before. It wasn’t like today was the first time.

“What?” Craig said defensively, “I've just been taking things easy. Nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about?” Token questioned, “Dude, you’re smoking more than you ever did before. I bet you even came out here to smoke. And people are saying that you were hanging out with Kenny yesterday.”

“Kenny?” Clyde asked in surprise. “You were hanging out with Kenny?”

“It's not the first time I've hung out with Kenny before,” Craig grumbled, “And why the hell do you guys care? It's not like I only have to hang out with you two all the time.”

Token and Clyde exchanged a look. “That's not it,” Token continued slowly, “It’s just, people don't just _hang out_ with Kenny without something, you know, happening. I mean, look at Butters. And we all know he’s been chasing after you since freshman year. What if Tweek finds out?”

For some reason, the mention of Tweek annoyed the hell out of Craig. “Why are you bringing Tweek up?” He snapped, “I was just hanging with Kenny for a cig. Don't read so much into it. Besides, me and Tweek broke up two months ago. He's not in the picture anymore. If I wanted to fuck Kenny I would have done it already, and I don't need Tweek’s approval to do it.”

He wasn't sure why he was saying any of this. Craig was partly sure it was because he was getting tired of everybody always bring Tweek up into every single one of his conversations. Craig was also sure it was because he hasn't seen Tweek’s face in almost two weeks and it was killing him.

“Dude, chill,” Clyde said. “We’re not attacking you or anything.”

“We’re just worried about you,” Token agreed, “You’ve been acting like this since your break up.”

Craig didn’t say anything. Mainly because he didn’t know what to say. Okay, so he was a _little_ depressed over this break up with Tweek, that much was obvious. He wasn’t aware of how much Tweek actually affected his daily life until he was no longer around anymore. With Tweek standing next to him, Craig never had the need to smoke. Tweek was always up Craig’s ass about going to class. And now that Tweek wasn’t around, Craig didn’t really know what to do. But it wasn’t like he was going to admit that to the guys.

“I’m just taking advantage of the freedom that I have now that Tweek isn’t down my back about every little thing anymore,” Craig said. He was getting a serious urge to smoke just to get rid of Tweek from his thoughts. “It’s nothing guys, really.”

“Whatever,” Clyde said, obviously not convinced by Craig’s terrible attempt at acting like he was fine, “Just don’t ignore my texts anymore. I’ll kick your ass if you do.”

“You couldn’t even kick a baby’s ass, Clyde.”

“Obviously. That’s illegal!”

Craig laughed. He was relieved that the conversation was finally off of Tweek for once. His chest was starting to get heavy and he didn’t want to sit there having to deal with it.

“Anyways,” Clyde said, he leaned into the guys and made it obvious that he had some gossip he wanted to spill, “You guys heard about what’s going on between Stan and Kyle?”

“No,” Token said and then paused for a moment, “Wait, actually I did hear that they’re not talking anymore. Haven’t been talking for almost two weeks or something like that.”

“They got into a fight,” Clyde informed, “Like, a big one. Not their normal petty crap that they get over by the next day. I heard it was really serious.”

“Yeah, Twe- Uh, I mean Kenny told me that Stan punched the shit out of Kyle.” Craig almost slipped out that Tweek was the one who told him. The guys still don’t know that he and Tweek are still secretly talking to each other, and Craig want to make sure that they’re not going to know any time soon. He knew he would get shit from them for still talking to his ex, even if it’s in private.

“Did you ask why?” Token asked.

“No,” Craig said bluntly, “But why the hell would I? I don’t care about Stan and them.”

“Well, I heard it’s because Kyle come out to Stan that he was gay.”

“Kyle? Gay?” Well, that wasn’t all that surprising. If any of the guys from that group was to be gay, it was obviously going to be Kyle. Well, if you exclude Kenny. But Kenny fucks anything he sees, so he’s technically not gay. Though it did seem like he preferred guys over girls.

Clyde nodded his head. “He told Stan and Stan just flipped. Nobody knows if it’s because Kyle is gay or if it’s because it’s _Kyle_ that’s gay. You know? Anyways, the two haven’t spoken to each other since that day.”

Craig had to admit, he was a little taken back after learning that. Kyle and Stan were best friends. Inseparable. The two were practically glued to the hip and would always do everything together. They’ve been friends since they were in preschool. And it ended all because Kyle came out of the closet? That didn’t make any sense.

But what if it did. What if Stan was that much of a homophobic bastard that he would literally throw his best friend out of his life for liking dicks? How long did Kyle know he was gay and how long did it take him to finally admit it to Stan?

But that's only if all of this was even true. As far as Craig was aware, these were just rumors going around that Clyde just happened to hear. Clyde loves rumors and will believe in anything anybody tells him. No matter how ridiculous it sounds. 

But still, the thought of your own best friend turning their back on you just like that is fucking terrifying.

What happens if Tweek does the same thing to him?

Impossible. Tweek wouldn’t turn against Craig for being gay. They’ve been in a fake gay relationship together for seven years for crying out loud! And yeah, although the school and everybody in town thinks that Craig and Tweek are gay, the two never really confirmed their actual sexual orientations to each other. But it never seemed necessary while they were dating.

Was Craig even gay? He didn’t seem to be interested in girls, but he wasn’t all that into girls either. But he did like Tweek. A lot.

“You know what else I heard,” Clyde continued. He looked around to make sure there was nobody around to listen in on them before looking back at the guys, “I heard Kyle admitted to Stan that he was in love with him.”

Craig could feel his body freezing up.

“Kyle in love with Stan?” Token sounded like he didn’t believe it. “Come on. I know they’ve been close since they were kids, but I doubt Kyle is actually in love with Stan.”

“What do you mean? It’s obvious Kyle has this huge gay crush on Stan. Everybody can see it! Only Stan was stupid enough not to notice it.”

“But come on. I mean, Kyle? It doesn’t sound right.”

“But it makes sense,” Clyde said, “Stan never had a problem with gay people before. But once Kyle comes out of the closet, Stan starts treating him like shit. He can’t be hating on Kyle for only being gay. There’s got to be more than just that.”

“What do you think, Craig?” Token turned to look at the tall male, but stopped when he noticed the pale look on Craig’s face. “Dude, are you okay? You’re white as fuck.”

Craig opened his mouth to say something, but nothing was able to come out. His body was tense and his chest was feeling heavier by the second.

If Stan could easily turned his back on Kyle for being in love with him, what would happen if Tweek found out about Craig’s feelings? Would Tweek be disgusted like Stan and turn his back on Craig? Would he never want to speak to Craig ever again? Would he never want Craig to be in his life anymore? Would he hate Craig?

Craig could barely handle not seeing him. How the hell could Craig survive if Tweek didn’t want anything to do with him. How could Craig live knowing Tweek hated him?

That thought was enough to make it hard for Craig to breathe.

“Hey,” Token waved his hand in front of Craig’s face as an attempt to grab his attention. “Are you okay? Do you want to go to the nurse’s office?”

Craig slowly blinked as he stared at his friends. “No,” he began slowly, “No. I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Clyde asked in concern, “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Token and Clyde were clearly not convinced judging from the worried looks they were still sending Craig, but they decided not to push it any further and leave it at that.

“Well, anyways,” Clyde said to go back to the topic they were talking about, “I’m not gonna lie, I feel really bad for Kyle. I mean, can’t even imagine how much it would kill me if my best friend, and the person I love, ended up hating my guts for something I can’t control.”

“Yeah,” Token agreed, “Just thinking about it is scary enough.”

Craig slowly nodded his head. “Yeah. It really is.”

\---

Craig, for the first time in what seemed like forever, actually went to most of his classes. He had nothing but the biggest urge to go outside and smoke a pack of cigarettes, but he figured going to class would keep him distracted enough that he could keep certain thoughts out of his mind. However, it didn’t exactly work. Due to skipping class so much, he had no idea what was going on in any of his lessons, and he didn’t have the motivation to actually try to understand either. So instead he sat at his desk while staring into space and had nothing but Tweek running through his mind during the whole class period.

Tweek and Craig were in a gay relationship together for seven years. But they were never in a _real_ relationship. It was all fake. An act that they had to pull because everybody in town cared so much about other people’s business, that their own happiness were affected by whether or not two ten-year-old boys were dating.

But over the years, it actually did begin to feel like a real relationship. Craig and Tweek were always together. They did everything together. They came to school together, went home together, hung out with their friends together, ate together. There was no such thing as a Craig without a Tweek by his side. It just became a natural thing for them.

But Stan and Kyle were just the same. Although they were never in a romantic relationship together, the two were just as close as Tweek and Craig, even closer actually. They’ve been best friends since preschool. Stan and Kyle have been through thick and thin together, holding onto their friendship for over fifteen years. It was pretty impressive, actually.

And yet, Stan let that all go because Kyle was in love with him. Sure, there’s a lot of problems with the idea of your best friend being in love with you, but that was clearly not the issue for Stan. It wasn’t that his best friend was in love with it, it was that Kyle, a guy, was in love with him.

And if the closest friends in school can burn down their friendship because of a simple confession, then can’t the same thing happen to Craig and Tweek?

Stan never had a problem with gay people. He seemed fine when Kenny came out as pansexual, and it never seemed to bother him whenever Kenny would talk about his male fuckbuddies. Stan was also close to Tweek, who everybody in town is convinced is gay. Hell, even Stan’s old dog was gay. It’s clear that Stan has no problem with gay people.

But he clearly had a problem with Kyle being gay.

Tweek doesn’t have a problem with gay people either. At least, it didn’t seem like he does. He was in a gay relationship for seven years for crying out loud. And Tweek and Craig have done some pretty gay things to each other throughout those years. From holding hands, to making out, to helping each other masterbate. But would he have a problem if he finds out that Craig is gay?

Being fake gay is one thing, but being actually gay is another.

Of course, Craig shouldn’t be comparing his relationship to Tweek with Stan and Kyle’s relationship. He wasn’t even sure if the rumors about them were even true. They could be fighting about something completely different, and yet Craig is sitting here overthinking his own relationship with his best friend because of those two bastards.

But Craig couldn’t help but let the crippling thought that his friendship with Tweek could be ruined if Tweek found out about his feelings get to him. Craig had on plan on confessing to Tweek eventually, but now he was not too sure.

Craig closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to stop thinking about this stuff. It just made him want to smoke, but now he was stuck in the middle of class so he couldn’t do anything about it.

Craig tried to pay attention to the lecture his teacher was giving, but frankly Craig had no interest in learning about the Industrial Revolution, and so whatever was coming out of one ear just came out the other. He took a glance around the room. He weren’t friends with any of the kids in the class. Bebe Stevens was sitting on the other side of the room, texting on her phone and not paying attention to the lesson. Craig never had a good vibe when it came to Bebe. Probably because she literally stomped on Clyde’s heart back in middle and Clyde still haven’t recovered from it.

Craig saw Butter’s empty seat in the front of the room and he could only assumed that Butter’s never came to school after his fuck night with Kenny. It’s funny to think that Butters didn’t turn out to be as innocent as everyone expected him to. You can blame Kenny for that though.

Craig’s eyes continued to scan the room until he reached the back, where four seats were completely empty. Strange, Craig thought. He remembered those seats used to be filled back when he actually went to class on a regular basis. But he couldn’t remember exactly who sat there.

Craig decided to nudge the person sitting next to him and ask. Kevin Stoley looked up from his notebook and glanced over towards Craig. Craig took a good look at Kevin and held in the urge to scoff. It seemed like everybody from elementary school decided to suddenly get hot once they reached high school. Kevin was a complete nerd back in elementary school, but now he had these boyish good looks that could make any girl fall for him. In fact, next to Kenny and Token, Kevin had to be one of the best looking guys in school. Hell, Craig could see himself having a little crush on Kevin if Tweek wasn’t in the picture.

When Kevin noticed who was talking to him, he let out a low chuckle. “Craig? I haven’t seen you in class for a while.” Damn, even his voice changed. Unlike Craig, Kevin managed to get rid of his high, nasally voice. His voice was now low and soothing and Craig was jealous. He decided he now hated Kevin.

“Whatever,” Craig mumbled. He was just glad that they were in the back of the room, so the teacher couldn’t hear or notice them talking. “Hey, tell me, who sits in those seats over there.”

Kevin took a look at the empty seats on the side of the room and then turned back to Craig. “Those seats have always been empty.”

“Nu-uh,” Craig said, “I remember those seats were taken. But I can’t remember by who.”

Kevin took another look at the seat. He then turned back to Craig with a huge grin on his face. “Oh! I remember now. The Asian girls used to sit there. I never paid attention to them so I completely forgot about them.”

“What do you mean ‘used to’?”

“Oh man, when was the last time you’ve been here,” Kevin said with another chuckle. “The Asian girls haven’t been here for weeks now. I thought you out of all people would have been aware about that. You know, since they used to fawn all over your relationship with Tweek.” Kevin paused for a second before shrugging a shoulder. “Then again, I guess you haven’t been paying attention now that you and Tweek broke up.”

Craig blinked for a moment. “Wait, they’re gone?”

Kevin nodded his head. “Yeah, dude. They left.” He raised an eyebrow at Craig before going back to paying attention to the lesson.

Craig leaned back into his seat and stared straight at the top of his desk. The Asian girls left?

Wait. Where the hell did they go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a long chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was then that Tweek realized they were in Kenny’s neighborhood. 
> 
> Oh god, was this Kenny’s plan all along? Was he trying to distract Tweek by talking about Craig so that he could bring Tweek all the way to his place to have his way with him? Tweek heard the things they said about Kenny. Kenny was good looking and all, but he couldn't give himself away to Kenny so easily. 
> 
> Tweek secretly took a quick glance towards Kenny. Okay wow, he really was good looking…

Craig couldn't find them no matter how hard he tried. He looked and he looked, but he couldn’t spot any of the Asian girls anywhere in the school. They used to always be in the hallways while Craig went from class to class, but now they weren’t there at all.

The Asian girls literally disappeared.

After his last class, Craig decided to head straight to Clyde’s locker. Clyde’s locker was next to one of the Asian girl’s, as Craig could clearly remember Clyde constantly tried hitting on her. But due to the language barrier, Clyde never managed to get passed a “Hey, how you doin’” before the Asian girl would just stare at him blankly before walking away.

Luckily Clyde was already at his locker with Token right beside him by the time Craig made it there. He still needed to meet up with Kenny soon, so he didn’t really have much time to waste.

“Hey,” Craig said once he was at a decent hearing distance from the two, “I have a question to ask you.”

“I got a question for you too,” Clyde said and waited for Craig to stop in front of them before continuing, “So, I was thinking of talking to Bebe about-”

“What?” Craig said, a bit taken back from the sudden mention of Bebe. “No. Don’t. She’s not worth it.”

Clyde frowned at that comment. “But dude, I was thinking-”

“Anyways,” Craig said, cutting Clyde off before he could start rambling on about Bebe. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to Clyde’s rant about his relationship with that cheater, and he didn’t have the time for it either. “You know the Asian girl whose locker was next to yours? When was the last time you saw her?”

Clyde glanced over at Token for a second, probably wondering why Craig was asking such a question, before he cracked a huge smirk towards Craig. “Whoa there, tiger. Didn’t know you had a thing for Asian chicks. When did that fetish come in?”

“It’s not like that,” Craig muttered, “Just answer my question.”

Clyde thought for a moment. “Actually, to be honest, I can’t really remember the last time I saw her. It was a while ago. But then again, I barely saw her to begin with. She normally doesn’t come to her locker.”

“Do you think she might have switched lockers or something?” Craig suggested.

But that question just made Clyde laugh out loud. “Dude,” he said once he managed to calm down, “Why would she change when her locker was next to this sweet piece of eye candy.” Clyde gestured towards himself in what he thought was in a smooth fashion. Too bad it wasn’t smooth at all.

Craig was beginning to question why he was even friends with this kid. “I’m being serious.”

“Why do you want to know anyways? You never cared about her before. Unless…” Clyde’s eyes grew wider as he realized something, “Did you have a thing for her this whole time? Even while you were with Tweek? Dude, that’s low. Even for you.”

Craig could feel his eye twitch when he heard his ex’s name. He let out an exaggerated sigh and he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose to calm down his nerves. “I already said it’s not like that. Why does it seem like you never listen to whatever I say. Anyways, but is it me or does it seem like the Asian girls suddenly disappeared. I haven't seen a single of them one at all today.”

“Huh,” Clyde said after the thought about it for a moment, “I never really noticed. But now that you mention it, I haven’t seen them around either.”

“Didn’t you guys hear?” Token finally spoke up for the first time. “The Asian girls transferred out of here.”

“What?” Clyde and Craig asked at the same time.

“What do you mean transferred?” Craig asked.

“Apparently they were all in this foreign exchange program thing. But the program had to be shut down due to budget cuts or something, so they had to transfer to other schools. At least, that's what I heard.”

“What the hell? That doesn’t make any sense at all. What kind of exchange program lasts for seven years?”

Token shrugged his shoulders. “Beats me. Wendy was the one who set that program when she was still student body president.”

Craig didn’t understand this at all. Does that mean the Asian girls are finally gone? They’re finally out of this shit-hole of a school? _Well, lucky them._ At least there was now a reason as to why Craig hasn’t see any of them.

It also made sense as to why Craig hasn’t received any of their fanfics since he and Tweek broke up. _Wait._ It all made sense now! The Asian girls didn’t stop writing their fics because they accepted the break up; they stopped writing because they left the school!

But does Tweek know about the girls leaving? For a week after their break up, Craig had lied to Tweek that he was still receiving fanfics, but it was all just Craig’s pathetic attempt to convince Tweek that this break up was pointless and to get back together. But obviously it didn’t work out the way Craig had hoped. Tweek had eventually stopped asking about the fanfics, but he never did mentioned anything about the Asian girls leaving. And it’d be weird for Tweek to hide it if he did know about it.

“Hey,” Clyde said as he dragged Craig away from his inner thoughts, “At least if you and Tweek ever get back together, you just don’t have to worry about those stupid stories anymore. Since the Asian girls were the only ones who wrote them.”

“Yeah,” Craig said as he thought about it, “You’re right.”

\---

Kenny blew out a puff of smoke from his out his lungs and closed his eyes as he took a whiff of the intoxicated smell. One hand was holding onto his half way done cigarette, the other want intertwined with Butters. It was right after school and the two were hanging out in front of the school’s back door. “You sure he comes this way? School ended almost half an hour ago and he still hasn’t come out yet.”

Butter’s took his eyes off his phone for a second to glance over at Kenny before putting his attention back on the small screen. “Maybe he got held up by a teacher or something. I normally see him come this way.”

Kenny stared at Butter for a moment before letting out a huff and taking another puff from the cancer stick. “Craig owes me big time for all the shit I’m going through just to help him fuck Tweek again. It’s sad that I’m gonna be the one who ends up with blue balls after all this.”

Butters frowned but didn’t take his eyes off the screen. Instead he just let go of Kenny’s hand and took a step to the side so that there was a large gap between the two. Kenny watched the whole thing unfold and could only let out a small chuckle. He had forgotten that Butters was a little jealous of Craig, even though the other boy didn’t care to admit. 

“Don’t be like this, Buttercup,” Kenny said as he grabbed Butters’ hand and pull him even closer than he was before. 

“I’m not being like anything,” Butters muttered as he tried to avoid making eye contact with the taller blonde that was now standing in front of him. “Oh brother, let me go. This is too close.”

Kenny smirked as he dropped his cigarette and put it out with the bottom of his shoe before leaning in to Butters and hid his face in the crook of Butters neck. He inhaled the smell of Butters’ scent and smiled to himself. He smelt just like mint.

Kenny and Butters weren’t dating. They honestly weren’t. They were only fuck buddies who liked to cuddle every now and then, and occasionally hold hands outside of the bedroom. Sometimes they went out to eat, when Kenny had the money for it, or they’d take a stroll around town and just talk. But they _totally_ weren’t dating.

Butters was Kenny’s favorite fuck buddy, and that was it. Butters had this thing about him that the others didn’t seem to have. He was softer than the rest. And smelled a lot better. And the fact that Butters’ parents doesn’t have a single idea of what was going on with Kenny and their son, despite the rest of the town knowing, brought a thrill that Kenny honestly craved. Also, Butters didn’t make Kenny feel like shit.

It was funny how this thing between the two of them even started. It had almost been a year ago, when Kenny and Butters were having their rare hangouts without the rest of the gang. Kenny was already out of the closet by then, and Butters was still just a little “bi-curious”. Butters was a lot better looking than he was back in the day. He was actually really handsome now and Kenny was completely attracted to it. And over the years, Butters lost the innocence he once had and no longer was navie about everything.You could blame Cartman for the all the times he screwed Butters over. Eventually Butters began to know better. But occasionally he still had his moments, but they were cute moments so Kenny didn’t mind it.

So one thing led to another that day and next thing they knew, they were locked in Butter’s room, while Butters’ parents were downstairs, having what Kenny swears was “the best sex he had in the longest time”.

Now Butters is the first person Kenny would call whenever he’s in the mood. Or whenever he wanted someone to cuddle with. Or just to talk to. There was nothing serious between them, really. Because if Butters wasn’t available, Kenny still had a long list of other people he could call. Besides, Butters deserves so much better than Kenny.

“Are you done yet?” Butters asked after he noticed Kenny hasn’t moved away from his neck for the past couple of minutes.

“What’s making you so cold today?” Kenny asked into Butters’ neck, but he didn’t make an attempt to move away.

“I’m not. I just… My parents want me home soon. It’s meatloaf night.”

Kenny groaned as he finally pulled away to look down at Butters. “Why?” he whined, “ I thought you were going to come over tonight. My parents are gonna be out for the night, my sister is gonna sleep over at a friends place and my brother is going an overnight shift. We got the whole place to ourselves.” Kenny smirked as he wrapped his arms around Butters waist and leaned into her ear, “We can be as loud as we want,” he whispered.

Butters shuddered when he felt Kenny’s breath on his ear and took a step back. “I guess we gotta do it another time. Can’t miss meatloaf night. My dad would ground me.”

Before Kenny could say anything to change Butters’ mind, the door’s to the back of the school flew opened.

Tweek stepped out, his eyes glued to a piece of paper that was in his hands, so he didn’t notice the two blondes standing not too far away from him.

“Finally,” Kenny said with a smirk when he noticed the twitchy boy. He turned to Butters before pulling the face mask that was hanging under his chin to cover his mouth. “Alright Buttercup, I’ll see you later then.” His voice was a little muffled out because of the mask, but he knew Butters still understood him.

Butters raised an eyebrow before rolling his eyes and walked away towards his car.

Kenny watched for a while as Butters walked away before he turned to Tweek, who was still staring at the paper and haven’t realized that Kenny was right there.

“Tweety Bird!”

Tweek jumped when he heard the familiar nickname, the nickname only one person ever calls him by, before he looked towards the direction of where the call came from. “O-Oh, K-Kenny. I didn’t see you there.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Kenny said with a chuckle as he made his way over to Tweek. “Whatcha got there? A love letter?”

Tweek looked like he didn’t know what Kenny was talking about until he remembered what he had in his hands. “Oh. No-no! It’s just my last math test. I didn’t- I didn’t do too good on it.”

Kenny grabbed the paper out of Tweek’s hand and laughed when he saw the “B-” written on it. “Man, you’re really a secret nerd, aren’t you?”

Tweek frowned as he tried to grab the test back, but Kenny held it up before he could so it was out of Tweek’s reach. Curse Tweek’s short stature. “Give it back, Ken. I need it.”

“I’ll give it back later.” Kenny folded the paper into a square and stuffed it into his back pocket for later.

Tweek frowned even deeper but didn’t pursue any further to get his test back. “Were- were you waiting for me out here or something? I didn’t see you in school today. Did you skip again?”

“Something like that.” Kenny smiled when Tweek shot him a suspicious look.

Kenny really liked Tweek, he really did. Tweek was a pretty chill kid, if you ignore his constant anxiety and spazzes. But Kenny can’t really say anything bad about Tweek and he really did like hanging out with him. They were childhood friends and had a more than a handful of good memories together.

“Actually,” Kenny continued, “I really was waiting for you.”

“Why?”

“I got a secret and I wanted to tell you about it.”

“S-Secret?” Tweek became nervous as he looked around, “Man, no, don’t tell me. I’m not good with secrets. Way too much pressure, you know?” He was terrible at keeping secrets, if you exclude the secret that he was in a fake relationship for seven years. But that was only because Craig was there to help him through it.

That made Kenny laugh. “That’s funny, coming from someone who’s been hiding something from me and the guys for a while now.”

Tweek eyes grew wider. “M-me? H-hiding something? Oh jesus, that’s not true!” Did he know about the fake relationship? Oh god, what would Tweek do if Kenny found out? Would he tell everybody about it? Blackmail Tweek into doing things for him? What kind of things? Sexual things probably. Oh god, Tweek didn’t even want to think about it!

“Craig told me all about it,” Kenny continued, completely ignoring how obviously freaked out Tweek was getting. He could now kinda of see why Craig was into Tweek; it was pretty cute to watch him getting nervous like this. “Don’t worry. Secret’s safe with me. I won’t tell anyone that you and Craig still secretly call each other every night. It sounds like some lame Romeo and Juliet crap to me, but whatever.”

Tweek blinked. “C-call each other?”

“Yep. You’ve guys been secretly talking to each other behind everyone’s back, right?” Kenny laughed at the worried look Tweek was sending him. He threw his arm over the shorter boy’s shoulders and pulled him closer so that they were now touching. “No need to be so freaked out about it. I told you; secrets safe with me.”

“Why did he tell you about it? Oh god, is something going on?”

“More or less.” Kenny began leading Tweek towards the direction of his house and the blonde male was too busy trying to sort out the mess in his mind that he didn’t even notice they were now walking.

“Is it something bad? Did I do something wrong? Oh god, is it about that cereal commercial? Does he hate me now?”

“Relax, Tweety Bird. As far as I’m aware, Craig could never hate you.”

Tweek nervously look towards Kenny, but you could see him becoming less tense by that comment. “You think?”

“Dude, I know. You’re like, his best friend. And his ex. You guys dated for seven years, for crying out loud. You think Craig can lose his feelings over you so easily?”

Confusion hit Tweek’s face and Kenny noticed it immediately. Kenny raised an eyebrow as a thought suddenly ran through his mind, but he kept his mouth shut.

“Feelings?”

Kenny stared at Tweek for a moment before a sly smirk grew on his face. He was glad he was wearing the mask so that Tweek wouldn’t notice it.

“Nevermind,” Kenny said as an attempt to stir the conversation in another direction. “Point is, I know all about the secret shenanigans the two of you are going through. And I support it.”

“Is-Is there a point of all this? I mean, are you trying to tell me something.”

“Yes,” Kenny said bluntly. He finally let go of Tweek and the two strolled together down the sidewalk. Tweek was still too into the conversation to notice where they were going. 

“What is it?”

“I decided to be, as the young folks like to call them, Craig’s ‘wingman’.”

“I… what?”

Kenny wanted to laugh. Tweek being completely confused was probably the cutest thing he’s seen in a long time. Hell, maybe he should forget about this whole deal and take Tweek back to his place instead. He does have the whole house to himself tonight. “I’m helping Craig. And you, too.”

Tweek frowned. He still wasn’t understanding anything.

“Okay, what I’m saying is this. I know you and Craig still want to hang out and stuff, but are scared of people seeing because then rumors will start and you ain’t got time for that stuff. So, being the awesome friend I am, I decided to help you guys.”

Now Tweek was getting a little skeptical. He never knew what to think when it came to Kenny. Kenny was a nice guy and all, but sometimes you needed to hold a guard up around him. He’s unpredictable.

“So, what exactly are you trying to say?” Tweek finally asked.

“Craig called me this morning and devised this little plan.”

“P-plan?”

Wait, why was Craig even telling Kenny, out of all people, about all this. Tweek thought it was supposed to be a secret. Did other people know about it? Was Craig going around telling just anybody about their phone calls? 

“Long story short, we figured out a way for the two of you to hang out without people being all up your asses about it.”

“What-what exactly are you talking about?”

Kenny smirked. “You’ll see.”

It was then that Tweek realized they were walking through Kenny’s neighborhood. Oh god, was this Kenny’s plan all along? Was he trying to distract Tweek by talking about Craig so that he could bring Tweek all the way to his place to have his way with him? Tweek heard the things they said about Kenny. Kenny was good looking and all, but he couldn't give himself away to Kenny so easily.

Tweek secretly took a quick glance towards Kenny. Okay wow, he really was good looking…

But no! Tweek shouldn't be thinking like that. He was still young and innocent. Well, not _completely_ innocent, but still enough that the thought of having Kenny have his way with him was enough to make him feel flustered. Kenny would be the second guy to see him naked…

Tweek’s face began to blush as he began to recall the not-so-innocent things he and Craig used to do behind closed doors. Oh god, no, don’t think about that stuff right now Teeek.

“You okay, Tweek? Your face is getting red.” Kenny asked when he noticed the flustered look on the shorter boy’s face.

“Not really,” Tweek mumbled as a reply. “Uh, where are we going?”

Kenny chuckled. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. Sorry that I stole you so suddenly, but there's some business we need to take care of.”

Oh god, Kenny really _is_ going to try to have his way with him!

Was Tweek clean down there? Oh god, he couldn't remember the last time he shaved. What if Kenny saw that hairy mess and laugh at him? What if he gets turned off. Oh god, Tweek didn't want to be known as the only person who could turn Kenny off, the horniest guy in South Park.

Tweek noticed that Kenny’s house was the next one over. Oh god, he wasn't ready for this. He was barely ready when he tried it with Craig that one time. He was mess back then and he's a mess now.

Oh god, Kenny’s house is next. Did Tweek put on a clean pair of underwear this morning?

Oh Jesus, it's right in front of them now.

Oh god, now it's… _wait, what?_

Tweek turned to look behind him as he watch them walk right pass Kenny’s house. He turned to look to Kenny, who was staring just straight ahead. After a while, he noticed the look Tweek was sending him.

“What's up?” He asked him.

Tweek blinked at him. “N-nothing.”

Kenny smirked. “Alright. But don't fall for me after staring for too long. Craig won't be happy about that.”

Tweek didn't understand what Kenny was saying, but he didn't bother to ask. Instead, he noticed something. The two of them were making their way into the woods, the one right by Kenny’s house.

Wait, was Kenny taking him to the wood to do it there? In public!? Well, the woods was a pretty hidden place since nobody ever goes in there, but still! To do it outside where there’s a slight chance of somebody catching you is too risky! Tweek wouldn’t be able to do it. Kenny should have thought twice before bring him out here. He’s just going to be disappointed now! Oh god, this was way too much pressure for Tweek.

Kenny suddenly stopped in the middle of his tracks, causing Tweek to bump right into him as he was walking just a few steps behind him.

“K-Kenny? Is everything alright?” Did Kenny finally realize this was all a bad idea? Was Tweek able to keep the little innocence he had left for another night?

“I need you to close your eyes.”

Or maybe not.

Tweek’s face notably dropped and Kenny had to hold in a chuckle.

“Why? Why do I need to close my eyes? Are you going to do something to me? Oh god, please don’t kill me.”

“Jesus, Tweek. I ain’t gonna kill you. But I do want to surprise you. And to do that I need you to close your eyes.”

“Please don’t kill me. I still have to hand in my English report tomorrow. It’s worth half my grade. I can’t afford to fail.”

Kenny stared down at Tweek for a few moments before finally cracking a grin. “Craig has an interesting taste, that's for sure. Now close your eyes.”

Before Tweek could respond, Kenny threw his arm around Tweek’s shoulder and covered the short blonde’s eyes with his hand. Tweek’s heartbeat began to increase by the second as Kenny dragged him deeper into the woods.

This is it, this was how both Tweek’s innocence and life was going to end. He was going to fail his english class because he never got the chance to hand in his report. He worked really hard on that report, too. Oh god, his dad was going to kill him.

The two continued to walk in complete silence. Kenny was leading Tweek, so at least Tweek didn't have to worry entirely about running into anything or falling into any holes. But it still didn’t mean Tweek wasn’t mentally freaking out as he spent the whole time going through the many ways Kenny could end his life right then and there. Who knew his childhood friend was actually a secret ax murderer. It sounds like something that could only happen in the movies.

The silent walk only lasted a couple of minutes, but for Tweek it felt like it lasted for hours. Time really does go by slower when you’re full with nothing but anxiety.

It wasn’t until Tweek heard a certain voice that his body suddenly became numb. Hearing that voice was enough to finally make his mind feel more relaxed.

“What the hell are you doing to him?” It sounded like Craig. He could recognize that nasally voice from anywhere.

“I’m bringing over your Tweety Bird like you asked me to. I wanted to surprise him. You’re welcome.” Tweek could hear the teasing in Kenny’s voice. But he didn’t really care about Kenny’s voice right now. Why was Craig here?

“You’re going to give him a heart attack like that. Holy shit, Kenny. How fucking dumb are you?”

“Hey, I might not go to any of my classes but my mom says I’m a bright kid. And if my mom says it, then it _has_ to be true.”

“Dude, let go of him.” Suddenly Tweek felt a familiar hand grab him by the arm and pulled him away from Kenny’s grip. Tweek looked up to see Craig standing right in front of him. But Craig wasn’t looking back at Tweek and instead was sending Kenny an annoyed look. “You’re leading him in the middle of the woods. Do you think covering his eyes was the best idea for someone like him?”

Kenny shrugged his shoulders. “Alright, alright. I got it. Don’t cover Tweek eyes anymore. Unless we’re in bed.” Kenny wiggled his eyebrows towards Tweek, which just pissed Craig off even more.

“Fuck off.”

Kenny laughed. “Whatever. I did what you wanted to do and brought your lover boy over here. You owe me math homework. Hell, maybe I can finally go to class for once.”

Craig rolled his eyes and finally looked down at Tweek, who was still looking up at him with wide eyes. He was still visibly shaking and Craig couldn’t possibly imagine what kind of things were running through his head on the way over here. “You okay?” He asked in a low voice, the one he always used whenever he needed to calm Tweek down.

It took a moment before Tweek slowly nodded his head. “I-uh. What-what's going on?"

Kenny cleared his throat before Craig could answer, which caught the other two boys’ attention. “My work here is done and I kinda don’t want to be a third wheel. Unless it’s a threesome, then I’m totally down. But I’m gonna head out. Call me when you’re ready to leave.” Kenny handed Craig a key before turning around and heading back towards his place.

It was now just Tweek and Craig left alone.

Craig awkwardly cleared his throat as he looked over at Tweek, who was still staring at him with his big eyes. “Uh-”

“What’s going on, Craig? Why are we here?”

Craig shifted in the spot he was standing. “I know this is kind of random, dragging you all the way over here and all. But first tell me, are you okay? You’re not mentally freaking anymore, right?”

Yeah, Tweek was still mentally freaking out! But it was getting a lot better now that Craig was here. Craig was probably the one person who was able to calm him down like this just by being nearby.

“I’m… Yeah, I-I’m fine. I’m fine.”

“Good.” Craig placed his hand on top of Tweek’s hand and ran his fingers through his blonde locks. That was something that always managed to make Tweek feel relaxed.

“Can you tell me what we’re doing here?”

"Oh yeah.” Craig nervously chuckled as he pulled his hand away. Tweek kind of wished he hadn’t. “Well, we haven’t hung out in a long time. And I missed seeing you. So, with the help of Kenny, I found a place where we could hang out without the chance of anyone seeing us. I couldn’t bring you here myself because people might see us walk into the woods together, so I asked Kenny to do it for me. The covering your eyes thing was all him though. I’m not stupid enough to ask him to do that.”

“But-But why didn’t you tell me before hand? I mean, I almost had a heart attack on the way here! At first I thought Kenny was going to have his way with me, and then I thought he was going to murder me!”

“I told Kenny to tell you but I guess he wanted to play around- wait. Have his way with you? You thought Kenny brought you here to have sex with you and you still came along? Were you actually going to fuck him?”

Tweek avoided eye contact for a moment as he nervously looked away. “Maybe...” he quietly mumbled.

“What!? Tweek, you’re kidding me, right?”

Tweek didn't answer and instead continued to avoid eye contact.

Craig mentally noted to himself to keep Kenny away from Tweek. “You don’t have a thing for him, do you?”

“What?” Tweek asked, now looking back at Craig. “N-No! I just figured, if I _was_ going to do it with someone, might as well be someone I know. Besides, I didn’t think I had a choice! I didn’t know what was going on!”

 _You could do it with me instead_ , was what Craig wanted to say. Instead he just frowned as he let the jealousy run through his body.

“What is this place you’re even talking about?” Tweek said, changing the topic.

“Oh.” Craig looked over to the side, his eyes trailing over to the tree not far from them. “There.”

Tweek looked over towards the same direction as Craig and his eyes widen. Tweek wasn’t sure how he didn’t notice it before. A tree house? A fucking tree house? “You- Are you serious?”

Craig just smiled sheepishly. “Well, why not?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing chapters with cliffhangers and seeing you guy suffer in the comments is the reason why I write


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek began to nervously play with his fingers. “But, why do all this? I mean, weren’t we talking on the phone? Why bring me here? I don’t-.” Tweek stopped talking as he continue to stare at Craig with a nervous look on his face.
> 
> Craig let out a silent sigh. He turned away from the door to fully face Tweek again. “I miss seeing you.”

Craig tried his best to ignore the creaking sounds as he climbed up the wooden planks nailed to the tree, which formed a ladder and lead up to the entrance of the treehouse. The terrible, run down treehouse. He knew Tweek was watching him from down below, and so he tried his best to put on a poker face as he slowly climbed up one plank at a time. But the reality was, Craig was seconds away from shitting himself. The higher he got, the louder the creaking sounds were, and the more paranoid he got that the whole treehouse was going to collapse on top of him before he even got to reach the top.

Kenny had claimed more than a handful of times that the house was stable and there was no way it could actually fall apart. “Trust me. If that thing can handle me and Butters fucking for three rounds, it can handle you and Tweaty Bird.”

And even though that wasn’t a reasonable excuse not to assume this run down piece of shit wasn’t going to crush Tweek and him, Craig had no choice but to trust him anyways. This treehouse was his last, and only, option to spend any alone time with Tweek, and Craig wasn’t going to let it slip away from him. And he knew Tweek wouldn’t even go near the thing if Craig himself was scared to go in it. So Craig had to put on a brave face and act as if climbing up these crooked planks was no big deal.

“B-Be careful,” Tweek said. He was a few feet away from the base of the tree and was looking up at Craig with a nervous expression. His hands were already tugging at his hair. “Don’t look down!”

Craig wanted to chuckle. He wasn’t far from the ground, at least not enough to be scared to look down. But it was cute of Tweek to be nervous for him.

Eventually Craig made it to the treehouse deck. There was barely any space to it, with barely enough room for him to move around without feeling claustrophobic. How the hell did Stan and them fit onto this thing until they reached middle school? Especially with Cartman’s fat ass. Craig was beginning to get a little worried. If he was having trouble breathing while just being on the deck, how was Tweek going to handle actually being inside?

He looked over the railing and down at Tweek and cracked a smile when he saw how bugged out Tweek’s eyes were. “How you doing down there?”

“Me? What about you? How- how is it up there? Is it scary?”

Creek shook his head as he leaned onto the railing. “Nah. It’s pretty cool actually.” Craig was silently praying that the railing wouldn’t break off.

Tweek looked like he didn’t believe him and Craig didn’t blame him. He did, however, take the chance to admire Tweek from where he was. God, was Tweek gorgeous. His messy blond hair. His big green eyes. His small, nervous frame. He wasn’t perfect, but Craig honestly loved everything about him nonetheless.

“Why are you staring at me? Oh god, do I have something on my face?” Tweek hands quickly flew to his face and searched around to make sure nothing was on it.

“Nope,” Craig said. “You’re perfect.”

Tweek gave him a questioning look. “Uh, okay. Um. Are you going to unlock the door or…”

Craig blinked and suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing. “Oh. Yeah.” He bashfully turned around to face the door and glanced down at the ridiculously large lock that was on it. Seriously, was there even a reason to lock this thing in the first place? Who the hell would waste their time to try and break into this piece of dump.

Craig took out the key that Kenny had given and frowned when he took a closer look at it. Even the key looked like it was going to demolish into pieces at any second. How was that even possible?

With a sigh, Craig put the key into the keyhole and opened the lock.

The creaking sound coming up the ladder was nothing compared to the dying noise that the door made when Craig slowly opened it. Taking a step inside, Craig look around the room. There was nothing inside but a wooden stool and, not surprisingly, a couple of pillows piled together at the corner of the room. Craig rolled his eyes, knowing that Kenny was clearly the one who left those there from his little adventures with Butters the night before. But while the pillows weren’t a surprise, what did raise Craig’s eyebrows was how clean the room actually looked. Despite looking run down and old, it looked a lot better than what Craig had expected.

“H-How is it?” Craig’s ear perked up when he heard Tweek calling out from outside. He took one last look around before stepping back outside onto the deck.

He glanced down at Tweek and shrugged his shoulders. “Could be better.”

“Really?”

“Why not come up here and check it out yourself.”

Tweek took a skeptical glance at the treehouse before looking back at Craig. “I don’t- I don’t know. What if it can’t handle the weight of both of us on it?”

“Dude, you’re like 50 pounds. I’m pretty sure you coming up here won’t make a difference.”

Tweek clearly did not look convinced. Craig can already see the paranoid thoughts running through Tweek’s mind and it wouldn’t be long before the boy’s body would start shaking from all that over thinking. So Craig tried to put on the calmest face he could muster and smiled down towards Tweek. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here with you.”

\---

Craig had to hold in a snicker as he watched Tweek nervously scale up the tree ladder. “Don’t look down.”

“F-fuck off,” was all what Tweek replied with, but you could tell on his face that he was trying his best not to.

Craig cracked a grin and squat down by the end of the ladder where it reached the deck. “Don’t be scared. It’s not going to break off.”

“B-But listen to the noise it makes!” Tweek whined. “It’s freaking me out!”

“Just… just ignore everything else and focus on me.”

Tweek stared up at Craig, who had a soft expression on his face. It was the usual expression Craig would make whenever Tweek was freaking out about something and Craig wanted to help calm him down. An expression that Tweek still wasn’t used to seeing, despite seeing it for seven years.

“Tweek? I said to focus on me. Not to stop climbing.”

Tweek hadn’t noticed that he had stopped moving. It’s been a while since Craig had given him that soft expression that he was taken back for a second. “Oh. Uh, sorry.”

It took a lot longer than it really should have for Tweek to finally make it to the top, but Craig had already expected that. He already knew Tweek like the back of his hand.

He grabbed Tweek by the hand once Tweek had reached the top of the ladder and help lift him up onto the deck.

Tweek nervously looked around as he slowly strolled back and forth on the deck, taking in everything around him. He hated this. Now that he was up close, Tweek could see how terrible and rundown the tree house actually was. He didn’t like this. He wanted out.

He turned to Craig, ready to tell Craig that he wasn’t up to this, but he froze when he realized Craig was already looking at him. He has a smile plastered on his face. “This place looks like crap, right? But hey, it’s the best we got.”

Tweek took another look around. He took in the rusted nails holding up the house. The creaking sound the floor made beneath them. The faded color of wood from over the years. The fact that the whole thing looked like it was going to fall apart at any second.

Tweek looked back at Craig and smiled. “I guess it could be worst.”

Craig’s smile grew even more. “Let's go inside.”

Craig took the lead as he turned the knob and walked inside the treehouse. Tweek followed right behind, his hands automatically grabbing the back of Craig’s shirt when he heard the slow creaking sound from the door. They were barely inside, but Tweek could already feel the walls coming in on him. His chest was beginning to feel tight and it was getting harder to breathe with each second. “C-Craig, I dont- I don’t know about this. I don’t feel too good..”

Craig grabbed Tweek by the hand and pulled him in so that they two of them were completely inside. It was a little tight with the both of them inside the small room, just as Craig had expected, but there was still enough space from them to freely move around.

“Look,” Craig said as he stretched out his free arm above his head, ignoring the fact that his hand was easily able to touch the ceiling, “There’s a lot of space.”

Tweek frowned. “You’re kidding, right? I mean, look at this place! I feel- I feel like some trapped animal.”

“Maybe if we sit down it’ll be better?”

He didn’t wait for Tweek to respond before he pulled Tweek down with him to sit down on the floor. The two sat facing across from each other, their hands still intertwined. Tweek looked up and stared at the open space above him. It was much better compared to when they were standing up.

“Better?” Craig asked.

Tweek nodded and looked at him. “Yeah, actually. It’s a lot better. Thanks.” He frowned again. “But, uh, you don’t have to keep holding my hand.”

Craig’s face flushed as he immediately let go of Tweek’s hand. “Sorry. Habit.”

They sat there in silence for a few minutes while the two spent that time taking in the room a little more and getting themselves used to their new surroundings. Craig didn’t really think much of it and was just glad that the ceiling hasn’t collapsed on them yet. Whereas, Tweek was taking note of every crack and dent on the floor and walls. His eyes landed on the pile of pillows at the corner of the room. Why hadn’t he noticed those before?

Tweek glanced at Craig and raised an eyebrow. “What are those pillows for?”

That grabbed Craig from his thoughts and he looked over to what Tweek was talking about. “Oh. Those are Kenny’s. I think.”

Tweek just stared at Craig with his eyebrow raised.

“Dude,” Craig said, slightly offended, “You think I brought them?”

“Well, you were the one who thought of this whole thing and dragged me here against my will.”

“First of all,” Craig said, ignoring the accusing look Tweek was sending him, “I didn’t bring you here against your will. You had every right to say no if you didn’t want to come. It’s not my fault you spent the whole walk here thinking about fucking Kenny that you didn’t even notice where you were going.”

That got Tweek’s face to turn immediately red. “I wasn’t thinking about fucking Kenny! I just- I just thought that if I had to that I wouldn’t mind it.. And- And the least you could have done was tell me that you were going to bring me here!”

Craig didn’t want to admit that the only reason he didn’t tell Tweek was because he knew Tweek would be completely against the whole thing. Being alone inside a rundown treehouse in the middle of the woods doesn’t sound like something Tweek would want to be apart of. And Craig couldn’t afford not bringing Tweek here. This was the only way Craig could actually see him without the eyes of his classmates staring down at them.

“You don’t have fuck Kenny, you know.” Craig muttered. His was honestly more annoyed of the fact that fucking Kenny was now an option for Tweek. Since he’s now single and all.

“I know I don’t have to,” Tweek said, his face still completely red. “I just- I don’t know. It was just a thought. It’s not like I’m asking to fuck him. I don’t know where his dick has been.”

Craig just shot Tweek an annoyed look.

“But seriously, why are those pillows there?”

“I told you already, Kenny must have left it there from last night.”

“Does Kenny sleep in here or something?”

“In a way, yeah.” Tweek didn’t need to know the type of sleeping Kenny was doing in here last night. It would just give enough reasons for Tweek to be even more paranoid about this place.

Tweek gave the pillows one last look before deciding to give up on that topic.

Once again, they fell into a silence. Craig should have been used to this silence. When they were still dating, there would be days where the two of them would just sit in Craig’s room and wouldn’t say a word to each other. Whether they were doing their homework, or just mindlessly scrolling through their phones, they had this comfortable silence hung through the air between the two of them. Craig didn’t mind this silence at all, and he was confident that Tweek didn’t either.

And maybe because it has been weeks since the two of them have been alone in a room together, but the silence this time didn’t feel the same like all those other times. There was a bit of an awkward feeling to it. At least, that’s how it felt for Craig. He wasn’t exactly sure how Tweek was feeling.

Craig felt like he needed to say something. To keep a conversation going. Which wasn’t something Craig was entirely used to. He never needed to push a conversation whenever Tweek was around, it sort of just naturally came. And on those days when there was nothing to really talk about, even then Craig felt like the silence was just as natural. Everything with Tweek felt natural.

But now, not so much. Maybe he was just overthinking all of this, which was unusual for Craig. Maybe it was because Craig hadn’t really seen Tweek for so long. And those brief passings in the hallways didn’t really count. He means _actually_ see Tweek. Actually have Tweek in front of him. Actually be in touching reach to Tweek. Actually being able to look at that blonde messy hair, and those nervous green wide eyes.

Craig was getting butterflies in his stomach.

“Shit.” He didn’t mean to say it outloud, but the word came out so suddenly and his arms were already cradling his stomach when Tweek gave him a worried look.

“Are-are you okay?” Tweek asked, “Does your stomach hurt?”

Craig shook his head. “No. It’s… it’s nothing.”

Tweek didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t question any further. Instead, he decided to change the subject. “Hey, want to see a fucked up article?”

“What?”

“This article I found online this morning on the walk to school,” Tweek said. He pulled out his phone and began to search for said article on it. “It’s so fucked up. Read it.”

Craig’s arm loosened around his stomach and fell onto his lap. He felt his face crack a smile as he watched Tweek scoot closer so he could show Craig his phone. “How fucked up is it?”

“Read it and find out.”

Craig’s smile grew wider.

\---

Craig was nervous for nothing. After Tweek showed Craig an article about a mother and son falling in love, the rest of the day passed by with the two boys talking as if they hadn’t spent the past couple of weeks avoiding each other. They jumped from topic to topic, with the occasional silence falling between them every now and again. But it wasn’t the same awkward silence as the first few minutes sitting in the tree house. It felt like the comfortable silence back when they were in Craig’s room. The silence Craig didn’t mind at all.

It was just like old times again. It wasn’t long before Craig began saying things without having to overthink it. Occasionally he had to stop himself from making a gay joke or comment on something that just friends shouldn’t comment on. But everything was pretty much going smoothly, just as Craig had hoped for. Everything was slowly going back to like how it was used to.

And before they knew it, it was getting dark outside. The downside of being in this treehouse, besides the fact of how crappy it looked, was the there was no lights inside. So it was only 6 o’clock when Tweek decided it was time to go home because it was getting harder to see outside and he didn’t want to be in the woods at night.

Craig walked Tweek outside of the treehouse and onto the deck. Tweek was getting ready to climb down the ladder when he noticed Craig was still standing by the door. “You’re not coming down?”

“Nah,” Craig said. “I gotta lock up the door and everything, so I’m going to stay back a little. Is that fine? Do you want me to walk you out of the woods?”

Tweek looked out into the trees at the distance before looking back at Craig. “I- I think I can handle. Thanks. But, uh, are you sure you want to stay here? I can- I can wait for you.”

“Don’t worry about it. You can go on ahead.”

Tweek didn’t say anything for a moment, and instead just watched as Craig turned towards the door again to lock it.

“So, why did you really bring me here?”

That question caught Craig off guard. He turned his head to look back at Tweek. “I told you, I wanted to hang out with you,” he said, “You don’t want anyone seeing us together because you don’t want them to assume we’re going to get back together. So, I figured I’d find a place where we can hang out without people knowing about it. South Park is a small town. No matter where we go, people will eventually catch us. Well, except for here.”

“Nobody knows this place is here?”

“Uh, well, except Stan and them.” Craig mumbled, mainly to himself. But Tweek heard it anyways.

“W-what!? What- what if they come and find us here?”

“Trust me,” Craig said, hoping his voice would calm Tweek down a bit, “They won’t come here. Kenny told me that none of them have even stepped into these woods since middle school.”

Tweek frowned. “What about Kenny? Kenny saw us. He knows we’re here. He’ll talk!”

“Kenny won’t talk. That kid is too busy sticking his dick in every hole he sees, he could care less about what we’re doing.” Plus, Craig agreed to do his homework in exchange for his silence.

Tweek began to nervously play with his fingers. “But, why do all this? I mean, weren’t we talking on the phone? Why bring me here? I don’t-.” Tweek stopped talking as he continue to stare at Craig with a nervous look on his face.

Craig let out a silent sigh. He turned away from the door to fully face Tweek again. “I miss seeing you.”

Tweek blinked. “What?”

Craig shrugged his shoulders. “I miss hanging out with you. You’re my best friend, you know.” He didn’t know how else to phrase it. It was as simple as that. Craig missed hanging out with his best friend.

Tweek remained silent and the lack of response from the blonde was making Craig nervous. But before Craig could take any of the sappy words back and act like it was all a joke, Tweek cracked a bright, beautiful smile. “Me too.”

Craig was speechless as Tweek said his last “See you later” and climbed down the ladder. Once he was completely out of eyesight, Craig covered his own face with his hands and let out a long groan. He could feel his face heating up.

God damnit, Tweek.

________________________________

 

Kenny was laying on his bed, his eyes locked onto the the poster of the almost naked woman hanging on his ceiling. He tried to imagine Butters head on the woman's body and almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous it looked. But instead, he simply cracked a smile.

While he was annoyed that he wouldn’t be able to spend the night with Butters, he couldn’t blame the kid for it. It’s not Butters fault for having shitty, strict parents who doesn’t let him do shit. Besides, if he couldn’t fuck Butters tonight, he could always just call that chick from North Park who’s been hitting him up on his phone nonstop these past couple of days. She was no Butters, but she should be enough for a few rounds.

While Kenny was in the middle of deciding whether he should actually contact her or not, his bedroom door flew open, startling the blonde boy and making him quickly sit up on his bed.

“What the- Karen? Holy crabs, don’t barge in like that. Knock at least.”

Kenny’s sister stood at the door, a duffle bag in one hand, and the other on the doorknob. “Sorry. I forgot.”

Kenny glanced up at the photo of the semi-naked woman and mentally cursed to himself. Hopefully Karen wouldn’t notice it. That was the only paranoia that Kenny had when Karen came into his room. He didn’t want her looking at something that a 13-year-old shouldn’t be looking at. Which Kenny had a lot hidden around in his room.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving to Ruby’s.”

“Sleeping over, right?”

Karen nodded her head. “Kevin said he’ll pick me up in the morning on his way back from work.”

“Alright. Have fun. And don’t go near Craig. I don’t want that kid ruining your innocent mind.”

Karen giggled. “I won’t. Are you going to call Butters?”

That question caught Kenny off guard for a moment and he raised an eyebrow towards his little sister. “Why would I call him?”

“I thought that since no one will be home tonight, you’d ask him to come over.”

“And why would I do that?” Kenny asked the question slowly, nervous to hear what her answer would be. If there was one thing Kenny made sure, was that Karen didn’t know how much of a slut Kenny honestly was. Sure, there was rumors going around town about how Kenny has already slept with everybody in town (which was not true. He has standards, you know.), but they were just that: rumors. At least, to Karen they were. She had no idea what Kenny would really do with his free time, and Kenny wasn’t going to let her know anytime soon.

Since they were young, Kenny had made sure that Karen got everything she wanted. Kenny and his brother, Kevin, grew up with a shitty life, and he didn’t want Karen going through the same thing. And he didn’t want his image of being ‘the best brother ever’ get ruined if she ever found out how messed up in the head Kenny really is.

“Aren’t you guys best friends? He’s always coming over to hang out so I just thought...”

Kenny was frozen for a moment before he let out a sigh of relief. “Uh, sure. We’re totally best friends. But, um, he can’t come over tonight. It’s meatloaf night.”

Karen giggled again, finding the idea of meatloaf night as a funny excuse. “Okay. Well, I’m leaving. Have a good night, Ken.”

“You too. Call me if you need anything.”

“Will do!”

Karen shut the door behind her and Kenny let out another sigh of relief once he heard the door click shut. Laying back on his bed, Kenny stared back up at the poster. He really needs to take it down before Karen sees it.

Karen is sleeping over at Ruby’s. Kevin is working over night. And his parents are god-knows-where. Kenny has the whole house to himself. With no Butters.

Fuck it. He’s calling the chick from North Park.

_____________________________________________

Craig drove up into his driveway, the dark sky of the night already out. Next to him in the passenger seat was a couple of bags from the nearby home improvement store. Glancing over at the bag, Craig took out his phone and dialed Kenny’s number. Craig has only spoken with Kenny on the phone once, so calling him felt weird. Especially this late at night.

It took a third time dialing his number for Kenny to finally answer the damn phone. “What the fuck do you want?”

If it was anyone else, Craig wouldn’t have let that person slide talking to him like that. But he had a feeling he was interrupting Kenny from something at the moment. “Mind holding your dick for a second? I need to ask you something.”

“You got 2 minutes. I’m close to cumming.”

“Too much info. Besides, I’m sure Butters wouldn’t mind the wait.”

“It’s not Butters. One minute and 30 seconds.” Kenny sounded like he was in a rush, and Craig knew it was better not to keep him up.

“I just wanted to get permission to install some lights into your treehouse. Tweek and I had to leave pretty early because it was getting dark and I figured if we had lights then we could stay a little longer-”

“Yeah, fine, do whatever you want. I don’t give a shit. Now let me go back to what I was doing.”

Craig didn’t have the chance to respond before Kenny hung up on him. Craig rolled his eyes before locking his phone screen and shoving it into his pocket. It was stupid of him to even ask for permission in the first place. He already brought everything he needed to install the lights. Even if Kenny was against it, he was going to do it anyways. But at least this way Kenny can’t say he didn’t ask.

Craig left the bags in the car, figuring it was better to leave it somewhere nobody could touch, and headed inside his house. It was a quarter to midnight, and he assumed everybody was already in bed.

He assumed wrong, however, because the moment he opened the front door, he was met with Ruby and Karen sitting on the couch, a movie playing on the t.v in front of them.

“What the hell? Why aren’t you asleep, Ruby?”

“Karen is sleeping over.” She didn’t even look at Craig, which Craig was already used to. Ignoring people and acting as if they didn’t exist was Ruby’s speciality.

“Hi, Craig!” Karen shyly, but enthusiastically waved at Craig from her spot on the couch. Craig ignored the light blush on her cheeks when he made eye contact with her.

“Hey, Karen. Your parents know you’re here?”

“Yep!”

Craig headed towards the kitchen to grab himself a quick bite before going upstairs to his room. He tried his best to ignore the feeling of eyes on him as he made himself a sandwich. As much as Craig didn’t mind Kenny’s little sister, he did feel a bit uncomfortable with the obvious crush she had him. Unlike her brother, she’s a little calm about her feelings towards Craig. But she did have a staring problem. What’s up with the McCormcold have a thing for him?

After finishing up his sandwich, Craig headed back into the living room and up the stairs to his room. “Don’t stay up too late,” he called out to the girls as he passed by.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Ruby responded with a monotone.

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you, too.”

“Goodnight, Craig!” Karen called out.

Craig dragged himself into his room, the sudden weight of the long day hitting him the moment he laid down on his bed. He turned so that his face was dug into the pillow and took a long whiff. It no longer smelled like Tweek. It hasn’t smelled like Tweek in weeks, and yet Craig still hoped he’ll be able to sniff the similar scent every single time he came home.

Even so, Craig smiled to himself.

He finally got to see Tweek again. After so long, Craig was finally able to hang out with Tweek, just like old times. Well, not exactly like old times, but it was close enough. Craig knew it’s better not to get greedy and just accept as much as he can get.

Hanging out with Tweek felt nice. It felt _really_ nice. Hell, he’d go right now to hang out with Tweek again for another couple of hours if he could. Being with Tweek always felt nice.

Craig wanted to laugh. It was funny how the only reason this happened was all because of a stupid fanfic, that technically wasn’t even a fanfic. It's really just a 5 step program to get the guy of his dreams back.

But hell, if it wasn’t for that stupid fic, then he wouldn’t have be able to finally spend alone time with Tweek again. He’d probably would have spent the whole day hanging out with the goth kids behind the school, smoking cigarettes, and listening to their poems of how miserable and pathetic their lives are. So maybe that fanfic isn’t really that stupid. He’s only on the second step, and he already had the chance to hang out with Tweek again. If it helped him get this far, then who knows, maybe it could actually help Craig win Tweek back.

Craig slowly sat up on his bed and scanned the room. It’s been weeks since he’d last seen that fanfic. So he couldn’t quite remember where he last put it. While he was scanning the room, he did remember one thing: Craig hadn’t cleaned his room in months.

The only time Craig would clean his room was whenever Tweek came over. But since their break up, Craig hasn’t even picked up a broom. But cleaning was pointless if he was the only person who will be in here. Craig honestly didn’t care if his room was clean or not.

But he did need to find that fic again.

Craig got out of bed and headed towards the other side of the room, where his pile of dirty clothes were. It took him a while to dig through the articles of clothing, but he finally reached the bottom of the pit. His mother would do laundry on a weekly bases, but it was never long for this dirty pile to immediately build up again. Craig was pretty picky when it came to his clothing and used to never like wearing the same thing twice. But now that he no longer needed to dress to impress Tweek, and all his clothes smell like cigarettes, Craig didn’t care if he wore the same thing three days in a row.

Craig couldn’t help but crack a small smirk when he noticed the familiar packet on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I died for a while, but I came back to life.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But he knew Tweek would get mad if Craig went to sit there uninvited. Tweek didn’t want to be seen together. Craig knew that. He knew that and he hated it.
> 
> So instead, Craig was forced to sit from afar as he watched Tweek with fond eyes, hoping that the blond boy would look at his direction and the two could make eye contact for the first time today. Kenny said something again and Tweek began to laugh again, his hand immediately covering his mouth and his eyes crinkling from the smile. Craig felt himself smiling to the sight, glad that even if Tweek wasn’t laughing with him, he was at least laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly died for a year due to writers block, and just life in general. But finally here's a new chapter! Made it a little longer than usual to make up for the lack of updates. I also went back and edited the previous chapters. I didn't change anything too major.  
> But thanks to everyone who still had a slimmer of hope for a new chapters and to those who left me nice comments!

Craig kicked aside a couple of the stranded clothes that were scattered all over the floor as he made his way to lock his bedroom door. The familiar packet was held tightly in his hands, as if Craig was terrified of losing it again. Which was partly true. He surely wasn’t going to lose sight of the packet again, even if it meant holding onto it for dear life while simply walking a few steps across the room to lock a door.

He made triple sure that the bedroom door was absolutely locked (he couldn’t afford his sister and her friend barging in at any moment) before making his way back over to his desk and getting comfortable into the chair. Once he was settled in, he carefully placed the packet on top of his desk and slowly read the eight worded title that was written on the front cover.

_How to Win Tweek in 5 Easy Steps_.

Craig glanced over to his bedroom door, making sure once more that it was completely closed, before turning back to the packet and opening it to the first page.

**Step One** : Call Him.

Already done. Next page.

**Step Two** : See him.

Accomplished.

So now, what was step three?

Craig’s fingers itched to turn the next page, knowing that the next step was going to be written on it, but something in the back of his mind stopped him from doing so. Why was he being so reliant on this stupid fanfic in the first place? Was he seriously expecting these stupid tips, most likely written by one of those Asian girls, to actually help him win over Tweek? Okay, maybe a little. Craig had been in a relationship with the same person for seven years. A relationship he was practically forced into. Granted, it was a fake relationship, but a relationship nonetheless. And because of that, Craig had no honest idea on how to actually develop a real, honest relationship. Everything with Tweek was sort of just given and played out to him, and it sort of all just stemmed out from there. Craig never had to actually do anything to establish his (fake) relationship with Tweek.

But now that he didn’t have the eyes of his classmates down his throat to decide what moves he needed to make next, he had no idea what to honestly do. And it sucked. So, could you really blame Craig for pathetically seeking advice from a stupid packet written by a person who probably had no idea what Tweek _actually_ wanted in a relationship? Well, yeah, probably. But still, there wasn’t anywhere else to turn to, and as far as Craig was concerned, the steps in the packet had managed to get further into his relationship with Tweek than he would have be able to do on his own. He probably would still have been spending his nights staring at the wall and hating his life, and himself.

So Craig ignored the part of him that wanted to laugh at how desperate he was being right now and turned the page of the packet to read the next step.

**Step three** : Go on a date.

Craig stared at the page, his mind completely empty of thought as he just looked down at the typed words. He reread the sentence once more.

_Go on a date._

That's it? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

There was no way in hell that Craig would be able to take Tweek on a date. It took Craig over almost two months just to have the chance to finally talk with Tweek face to face. He was finally able to hang out with the guy for the first time in what felt like forever. So how exactly was he supposed to go on a date with him?

Craig frowned as he leaned into his seat, a thinking look spreading across his face as he began to consider the little options he had.

Would hanging out at the treehouse be considered a date? Of course not. A date can only be considered a date if the two party agreed it was a date. It wasn’t like Craig could take him out to the treehouse, hang out, and call it a date without saying a word about it to Tweek. And it wasn’t like Craig could suggest going to a coffee shop or something equally as cliché, unless he wanted Tweek to pass out from a heart attack with the thought of people seeing the two together out in public. Word of the two of them being out together would spread just as quickly as it did when they broke up. They could always go out of town, somewhere people didn’t know them. But would Tweek really up for something like that?

Then again, asking Tweek out on a date would mean Craig needed to admit that he had some sort of romantic feelings for the blond boy. And while it was completely true, he wasn’t ready to confess. Just the thought of it made his palms sweaty and Crag had to dry them on his jeans.

Clearly, Craig had no options.

With a soft sigh, Craig closed the packet. After changing into something more comfortable to sleep in, Craig crawled back into his bed. The weight of the day finally got to him and he wasn’t aware of how tired he really was until the moment his head hit the pillows.

He needed time to think about this next step. But right now, he just needed some sleep.

 

* * *

 

Craig woke up late to school. Again. Squinting over at the clock, he knew he could at least make it to his third class if he pushed himself out of bed for once instead of hiding under the covers for another thirty minutes, like he usually does.

He contemplated on whether school was actually worth it or not, but he figured if going to school meant seeing Tweek, then fuck yeah it was worth it. Even if the view of Tweek would only last for about twelve seconds. It was still worth it.

He wasn’t in a rush to get to class, however, so Craig took his sweet time getting ready. It wasn’t too long until he was stepping out of his house and began his walk towards school. Craig decided to skip the idea of driving to school, figuring that the walk would wake him up a little. He did go to the car to grab the bags he left in the passenger seat the night before and stuffed them into his backpack. He was going to need them for later.

Craig felt his phone vibrating a couple of times on his walk, but choose to ignore them all. He knew they were most likely Clyde being up his ass again for coming to school late. You’d assume he would be used to Craig’s tardiness, as he’s been late to school almost every day since his break up with Tweek. But Clyde has always been like an overprotective mother, with Token always having to be the one to calm him down at the end.

Just as he predicted, Craig made it to school just a few minutes before the second class ended, which gave him enough time to head to his locker. The halls were empty, since everybody was still stuck in class, and Craig was glad he didn’t have to push through people just to get from one end of the hall to the other end. Since South Park High was basically overpopulated, it was practically impossible to get to class without bumping shoulders and occasionally flipping someone off.

But without anyone in the hallways to push pass, Craig was able to casually stroll down the hall while whistling to himself. But the whistling quickly cut to a halt when he noticed a certain somebody at the over end of his hall walking towards his direction. Craig’s eyes narrowed, but he kept his eyes forward, hoping the other person would ignore him just like he was doing to them. But of course, Kyle never did whatever you want him to do, so Craig could only be internally annoyed when he noticed the other male’s face light up once he was aware of Craig’s presence.

“Hey, Craig!” Kyle said, his voice just as annoying as it was the last time Craig heard it.

Craig never really understood why he hated Kyle so much. If anything, he should be the least irritating one of Stan’s group, since he seemed to be the only with actual decent moral values and wasn’t an asshole to everybody around him. But maybe it was Kyle’s underlying sweetness that really irks Craig. Kyle is always trying to keep himself apart from the ‘in crowd’ and avoids falling into the latest fab, which usually resulted with him having a big head and will act like he’s above everyone else for being ‘different’. While Stan does basically the same thing, at least he has the decency to admit that he’s an asshole for it. Kyle, on the other hand, will try to convince you that he’s never the bad guy. Which can get really annoying.

Kyle was already only a few feet away, but Craig continued to keep his eyes forward. He grunted in response to Kyle’s greeting, but didn’t stop to actually acknowledge his presence. Of course, that didn’t stop Kyle from suddenly changing his route and begin trailing a few steps behind Craig.

That was another thing Craig hated about Kyle. He sucked at reading the atmosphere.

Because if he did, then he wouldn’t be trying to have a conversation that Craig clearly didn’t want to have.

“I haven’t seen you a lot around lately. Especially in English.”

“Yeah, well,” Craig mumbled. He began to pick up his pace, hoping that Kyle would get the picture and leave him alone. Instead, Kyle just picked up his pace as well.

“Coming in late today? I heard you’ve been late a lot these past couple of weeks. Since your break up with Tweek, actually. If you want, I can give you any of the notes you missed from class. You know, in case you want to catch up. We have a test coming up next week so I might need them back before then...”

Craig glared over at Kyle, resisting the urge to hurt him right then and there. He stopped in front of his locker, and while ignoring the babbling Kyle who stopped right next to him, Craig opened the locker and tossed his bag in it.

“... I really should have started studying since the announcement of the test, but this happened and that happened, and I kind of got distracted. But if anything, we can study together. I don’t mind-”

Kyle was suddenly cut off when Craig slammed his locker shut. He turned over and glared down at Kyle. Being a few inches taller was a blessing because it made Craig look a lot more intimidating than he really was. Kyle wasn’t much tall to begin with, being the shortest of Stan and them, right behind Cartman.

“Is there something you need from me?” Craig asked in a low voice.

Kyle tilted his head up to look at Craig in the eyes. “Actually, there is.”

At that moment, the school bell rang and it only took a second until the halls were filled with students trying to make it to their next class on time. Craig and Kyle continued to stay in their spot as they just stared at each other.

“Well?” Craig asked after a moment of silence. “What do you want? I don’t have all day.”

“I’m sure you’re not in a rush to get to class,” Kyle muttered under his breath, but it was loud enough for it to reach Craig’s ears.

“No. But that doesn’t mean I want to stand here with you either.” Craig had actually planned on seeing if the Goth kids would sell him any cigarette packs.

Kyle opened his mouth to respond, probably with a bitter comeback, but it was shut closed when an arm was suddenly thrown over Craig’s shoulder. Clyde leaned into Craig’s body, an annoyed look plastered on his face.

“Bro, we need to talk about your lack of response to my texts,” Clyde said. He eyes then wandered over to Kyle, and the annoyance on his face was quickly replaced with a wide grin. “Kyle, dude, what’s up?”

Unlike Craig, Clyde didn’t have much of an issue with Kyle, or the rest of Stan and them. The two had their disagreements over the years, but it wasn’t enough to cause an actual dent in their friendship. Craig didn’t understand it, but as long as Clyde wasn’t trying to force him to hang out with that gang, he didn’t care.

“Hey, Clyde,” Kyle said with a stiff smile.

Clyde looked between Craig and Kyle for a couple of seconds before slowly removing his arm around Craig’s shoulders. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Actually-”

“No, you didn’t,” Kyle said, completely cutting Craig off from finishing his sentence, “I was just offering to lend my English notes to Craig, on account that he’s missed a couple of classes.”

“Dude, mind if I borrow them too? I suck at English and my notes look like shit. I can barely read them. And I wrote them!” Clyde let out a laugh and Kyle gave him a petty laugh in response.

“Sure. Um, but I have to get to class right now. I’ll see you guys later.”

Craig frowned. “Wait, didn’t you need something from me-”

“I’ll see you guys later,” Kyle repeated, a bit more stern this time before turning around and heading towards his next class.

Craig wasn’t sure what just happened, but he was pretty sure that Kyle had he needed something from him. Whatever it was, it must have not been important enough if Kyle was able to quickly dismiss it the moment Clyde came. Unless it was something Kyle didn’t want Clyde knowing about.

“Late again?” Clyde asked, grabbing Craig from his thoughts.

Craig looked over at him and nodded his head.

“Hell, at least you made it before lunch this time.” Clyde threw his arm over Craig’s shoulders again and began dragging him down the hall. “I’m not in the mood to go to Math today. Pop quiz. Wanna cut?”

Craig laughed. He had already planned on cutting anyways.

 

* * *

 

 

Craig sat alone at his usual table in the cafeteria. He normally wasn’t the first at the table. Jimmy was always there before anyone else, unless he had a club meeting he needed to attend to, and Craig was usually always the last one to arrive to the table. But since Craig had spent his morning hanging out with the goth kids after Clyde had gone back to his class, he decided to head to the cafeteria a little early and see if maybe he’ll finally have the appetite to eat lunch for the first time in weeks.

The cafeteria was only halfway full, as students were still making there way from their previous classes. Craig’s eyes were locked on the other side of the room and had been since the moment he sat down.

Tweek was sitting alongside Kenny and Stan, a tray of food already sitting in front of him. He was laughing at something Kenny had said, but was covering his mouth, as if he was scared he might be laughing too loud. It was something Tweek usually did to make sure he wasn’t a scene for himself. He usually never did it around Craig, though.

Craig had the urge to get up and sit over there. Even if it meant sitting at a table with the people he hated. It was fine. He would just ignore the other people and keep his focus on Tweek and Tweek alone. It wasn’t like it would be hard for him either. His attention was always on Tweek.

But he knew Tweek would get mad if Craig went to sit there uninvited. Tweek didn’t want to be seen together. Craig knew that. He knew that and he hated it.

So instead, Craig was forced to sit from afar as he watched Tweek with fond eyes, hoping that the blond boy would look at his direction and the two could make eye contact for the first time today. Kenny said something again and Tweek began to laugh again, his hand immediately covering his mouth and his eyes crinkling from the smile. Craig felt himself smiling to the sight, glad that even if Tweek wasn’t laughing with him, he was at least laughing.

But the smile on his face was quickly wiped away when a figure sat in the seat in front of him, immediately blocking his view.

“What the-”

“I need to talk to you.”

Craig eye’s narrowed as he stared at the nervous look Kyle was giving to him. What the hell was this kid doing? Why was he sitting here? Is he still not aware of the fact that Craig hated his guts?

“We were talking before. You could’ve told me what you needed then, but you didn’t. You lost your chance. Now leave.”

“You’re such a dick,” Kyle growled. “I couldn’t say anything because Clyde came.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Craig said coldly, “Now go.”

It was clear that Kyle wanted to snap back, but instead he leaned back into the chair and let out a long sigh as an attempt to compose his temper. “Look,” he said after a couple of seconds. “Just hear me out. Please.”

Craig frowned. Frankly, he didn’t give a damn about what Kyle wanted and he’ll probably never will. Craig seriously hated Kyle, and he knew Kyle felt the same way back. He scanned Kyle’s face trying to see if this was some kind of joke, just a tease to get on Craig’s nerve. But instead, he noticed a dark bruise underneath his left eye that lead up to his cheek bone. It wasn’t too dark, which was why Craig hadn’t noticed it before, but it was still dark enough for him to realize that it was there and still healing.

“Fine,” Craig found himself saying. He really didn’t want to do this, but if Kyle was so desperate to talk to him, Craig might as well hear what the kid had to say.

Kyle closed his eyes and let out another long sigh before opening them again. He leaned forward, placing both arms onto the table, and looked directly into Craig’s eyes. “I have been considering this for a while. So don’t assume that I'm doing this on impulse. And I get that the two of us might not be the best of friends, let alone good acquaintances. We have our differences and acknowledge that. But I believe with effort and understanding, it doesn’t have to be that way. Although I’ve denied it for quite some time, I honestly do have an admiration for you. One that I think we should both… uh, do something about..”

Kyle was beginning to struggle with his words, which irritated Craig.

“Just spit it out, Broflovski.”

Kyle swallowed a nervous lump. “Okay. I’ll just rip off the bandage,” he mumbled to himself. With a louder voice, he said, “Craig, would you like to get something to eat?”

Craig blinked. “What?”

“Together, that is,” Kyle quickly added, “As in, you and I go somewhere to eat. Together. Some time after school. Or on a weekend. Either one is fine with me.”

Craig noticed the deep blush spreading across Kyle’s cheek as he began rambling on again, not really giving Craig a chance to take in what was happening at the moment.

“Or, if you’d rather, we could eat breakfast together before school. I don’t mind that either.”

“Wait,” Craig finally said, “Are you… are you asking me out? Like, on a date?”

“Uh. A date. Sure. If that’s what you want to call it.” Kyle’s voice was almost at a whisper. Craig had to strain his ears just to be able to hear the other boy properly.

Craig was confused. “Don’t you hate me, though?”

Kyle looked away to avoid eye contact and his hand began to fiddle with hem on his sleeve. “I’ll admit we’ve had our differences in the past. Differences that were enough for me to… not entirely like you. But I feel that as of late, there hasn’t been any real issues between us. Not anything for me to dislike you over like I did when we were kids. I…am not holding any grudges. And, well, lately I’ve been feeling that we could have something… special between us, if given the chance.”

Kyle was asking him out. Kyle Broflovski was asking Craig out. This was all too confusing. Craig didn’t know how to respond.

“You… like me?” It was a stupid question, but a question Craig couldn’t help but ask.

Kyle didn’t say anything. His face just turned a shade darker.

A million questions began to run through his mind. How long did Kyle feel this way? How long was Kyle gay? Or is he even gay? Is he only gay for Craig? Is that even a thing? Are the rumors about Kyle really true? If that’s the case, wouldn’t that mean that the part about being in love with Stan be true too? It couldn’t be if he was asking Craig out. What the hell was going on?

But he wasn’t able to voice any of his question as Kyle nervously stood up. “Just- Just think about it for me. Please.” Without another word, Kyle turned around and walked over sit at a table already occupied by Kevin Stoley and Millie Larsen.

Craig didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know how to feel. And he certainly wasn’t sure what to do.

“Why was Kyle sitting here?”

Craig looked over his shoulder after hearing the sudden voice, only to find Token and Jimmy standing right behind him. Token had an eyebrow raised as he waited for Craig to answer his question.

Craig looked back over towards Kyle, who was also looking at his direction. The two made eye contact and Kyle quickly turned his eyes to look at Kevin.

“He was..” Craig looked back at his friends, “Just letting me know about a test we have in English.”

“Oh, you mean the one for next week? That test if going to be on the Shakespeare book we were supposed to read.”

“Yeah.. he was just explaining that to me.”

“F-funny,” Jimmy said as he and Token finally decided to take their seats at the table. “I wouldn’t have thought Kyle would want to h-help you. I thought he h-h-hated you.”

“Yeah. Me too,” Craig mumbled.

 

* * *

 

Craig let out a satisfied sigh as he finally hung up the last LED light that he had brought from the home improvement store the night before. After being forced to leave early due to it getting dark yesterday, Craig drive straight to the next town to buy some battery powered lights he could hang around in the tree house.

Tweek let out a whistle of approval. He was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the pile of pillows Kenny had left from the night before, as he watched Craig hang up each light. “Looks good,” he said with a smile.

Craig looked over at him and smiled back. “Thanks. Now we don’t have to worry about it getting too dark in here.”

“What if the battery goes out? Or what if people notices the light and comes to see what it is? They’ll find us. Craig, are you sure this is a good idea?” Tweek eyes were widening with each question.

“Relax,” Craig said as he sat down next to Tweek so he could lean against the pillows as well. He left a little gap between the two, but he could still feel the familiar warmth radiating off from Tweek. “I bought extra batteries just incase. And nobody will see us. We’re way too deep in the woods for the lights to be noticeable.”

Tweek still looked a bit skeptical, but he kept his mouth shut as he leaned deeper into the pillows. “I’m glad Kenny left these here. Sitting on the floor is uncomfortable. As least the pillows are nice to lean on.”

Craig made a mental note to buy some padded blankets that he could lay out on the floor.

“I don’t even want to imagine the gross stuff Kenny and Butters did on these pillows,” Craig muttered. Despite the comment, Craig slumped down so that his body was laying across the floor, with only his head still pressed against the pillows.

“Now that you said that, that’s all I’m imagining.”

“Gross, Tweek. Get the image of Kenny’s dick shoved up Butter’s ass out of your head.”

“Craig, you’re not helping!”

Craig cracked a smile before turning onto his side so that he was facing Tweek. Tweek had a pout on his face while he stared up at the ceiling. His fingers were rapidly tapping on his thighs, which concerned Craig.

Craig was honestly amazed. His biggest fear was that Tweek wouldn’t want to come back to the tree house. Craig had to practically drag Tweek against his will yesterday. But when Craig went to the tree house today to install the lights, Tweek was already there sitting underneath it waiting for him. Craig didn’t have to convince Tweek to come. He didn’t have to plot a ridiculous scheme to trick Tweek to come. Tweek came on his own.

“What are you thinking about?” Craig asked after a couple of seconds of silence.

Tweek looked down at him for a brief moment before averting his eyes back towards the ceiling. “Trying not to think about Kenny and Butters.”

“Dude.”

Tweek cracked a smile before sighing.

“Actually, I think... I think I left my meds at home. I couldn’t find them in my backpack during lunch. I had trouble concentrating in class. I couldn’t sit still and my fingers kept tapping on the table and my leg kept shaking. Oh jesus, it was terrible.” Tweek finger’s began to tap faster. “I should’ve got my meds before coming here.”

“Why didn’t you?” Craig asked in a calm voice.

“I-I don’t know.”

Craig’s eyes were locked on Tweeks fingers as they continued to tap away on Tweek’s thighs. Craig has seen this from Tweek before. It would usually happen whenever Tweek forgot to take his medication that was supposed to help him with his anxiety. It was rare for Tweek to forget his medication though, so whenever he did forget, he would become a nervous mess. But whenever this happened, Craig would always take Tweek away to somewhere quiet. Tweek would rest his head on Craig’s lap, and Craig would play with Tweek’s hair, until the blonde boy is able to calm down.

Craig wanted to do that now. Run his hand through Tweek’s terrible nest hair, but he knew he shouldn’t. He couldn’t.

“Do you want to go get them?” Craig asked.

“N-Nah. I think- I think I’ll be fine.”

“You went all day without them?” Those days were the worst, whenever he went a complete day without them. Tweek’s anxiety would go to its highest point, and it would take hours to calm him down.

“I did take it! This morning. Before going to school. I guess- I guess I left them though, because I had a test in Economics today and I couldn’t find them in my bag. I wanted to take them before the test. You know, to help my concentration and all. But I spent the whole test fidgeting that Mrs. Clark had to kick me out for being a distraction. I explained to her what happened after class and she agreed to let me retake the test tomorrow after school.”

“Well, that was nice of her.”

“I- I guess. It gives me an extra day to study.”

Tweek was now shaking his foot, another tactic of his as a form of distraction. Craig turned onto his back and frowned. He didn’t know if he should do something. Should he offer his lap for Tweek like he used to do when they were still dating? Would that be too weird between friends? Would that freak Tweet out even more?

Craig sat up instead, and was about to offer the water bottle he had in his bag on the other corner of the room, when Tweet suddenly repositioned himself so that his head was laying on Craig’s thigh.

“Uh,” Craig mumbled as he looked down. Tweek had his eyes closed. “What…”

“My head- it’s starting to hurt. It’s fine if I lay down for a bit, right?” Tweek opened his eyes to look up at Craig. “Is it?”

Craig could feel his face heating up. “Well, yeah. But don’t you think a pillow would be more comfortable than my thigh?”

Tweek closed his eyes again. “I’m fine here.”

The two sat like that for quite some time. They didn’t talk and Craig dealt with the silence by scrolling through his phone, but there wasn’t really much to scroll though with the lack of service he was getting in the woods. Tweek continued to keep his eyes closed, and after twenty minutes, he moved onto his side so that his face was nuzzled into Craig’s stomach.

Craig tried to ignore the butterflies he was feeling and he really hoped Tweek couldn’t hear how fast his heartbeat was going. He shouldn’t be this nervous. They’ve done this before, lots of times, whether there were people to watch or not. It should be normal for them.

But they were dating back then and now they’re not, and that made a big difference.

Almost an hour past by with the two of them like that, and Craig had to check twice that Tweek hadn’t fallen asleep. He was no longer fidgeting as much as he was before, which was a good sign.

“I should really study,” Tweek slowly mumbled into Craig’s stomach. His voice was low and even though he wasn’t asleep yet, he was getting sleepier by the minute. “Maybe later.”

“You sure?” Craig asked.

Tweek nodded his head. “Later.”

“Whatever you say,” Craig said with a soft chuckle. His hand reached up and was placed on top of Tweek’s head. He waited for any sign of discomfort from Tweek, but when he only received a content sigh in return, Craig left his hand there.

This is okay. This isn’t going too far.

This was fine.

“Tweekers.”

“Yeah?”

A thought was on his mind, and he figured he might as well voice it. “What exactly happened between Kyle and Stan?” The light bruise on Kyle’s cheek had been stuck in the back of Craig’s mind since lunch. He remembered Tweek mentioning about an incident between the two during one of their phone calls, but Craig also remember that he was in a bad mood and wasn’t really paying attention to what anyone said that day. Token and Clyde also mentioned it once, but they heard it from rumors, and Craig knew better than to listen to rumors. His whole life revolved around rumors.

“Why are you asking?”

“I’m justing wondering. I noticed they haven’t been hanging around a lot anymore.”

“I’m surprised you noticed that,” Tweek mumbled. He turned onto his back so he could look up at Craig. “I dunno know what really happened. I walked in on them when they were already fighting and I couldn’t really understand what they were yelling about. And Kenny and Eric were just standing at the side not doing anything, and then Stan-Stan just punched Kyle in the face! Oh jesus, it was so intense. I don’t think they spoken to each other since then.”

“Cartman or Kenny didn’t tell you what the fight was about?”

Tweek shook his head. “I was too scared to ask.”

“People are saying that it was because Kyle came out.”

“Came out?” Tweek looked genuinely confused.

“You know, as gay. Also that Kyle confessed about having feelings for Stan. That’s why Stan punched him. Well, that's what people are saying is the reason.”

“I think I heard that too,” Tweek mumbled. “I don’t know. I’m not- I’m not as close as the four of them are. I don’t think I’m really in the place to ask questions like that.”

Craig nodded his head in understandment. The punch must of been really hard if the bruise was still on Kyle’s cheek after all this time. Then again, it wasn’t like Craig even cared. But he couldn’t deny that the whole thing made him a bit curious. If Kyle really did come out as gay and confessed to Stan, then why the hell did he ask him out on date today at the lunch?

Was Craig meant to be Kyle’s rebound? A distraction to keep his mind away from Stan? Was Craig just being used?

It’s not like they’re even dating for Craig to be offended like this. But the thought of being someone’s second choice irritated him. He didn’t want to be someone’s second choice, especially not Kyle’s. Then again, it wasn’t like Kyle had any other options. Craig was one of the only people in school who was openly gay to the public, and the only other options were Kenny and Butters, and Craig doubt that Kyle would run to either of those two.

There was also Tweek.

“Hey, Tweekers?”

“Hm?”

“Has Kyle ever mentioned to you about wanting to go on a date?” He asked the question, trying to word the sentence in a way it wouldn’t give away anything that happened at lunch.

Tweek thought for a moment. “Uh, no. Not really.”

“I mean, has he asked you out to go on a date with him?”

“W-What? N-no! Why, did you hear something? Oh god, Craig, please tell me there isn’t a rumor going around about me and Kyle!” He was about to sit up and Craig wasn’t going to allow that just yet.

“What? No, no,” Craig quickly said, patting the top of Tweek’s head as a way to calm the boy, “I was just asking. There’s no rumor. I swear.”

“Oh. Okay. Okay, that’s good.” Tweek sounded relieved. He stared up at Craig. “I’m tired of people spreading rumors about me.”

Craig stared down back at him. “Yeah,” he mumbled as he slowly ran his fingers through Tweek’s hair. “Me too.”

 

* * *

 

 

Craig locked the door to the tree house before stuffing the key into his pocket. Tweek stood beside him, his eyes droopy from the nap he accidentally took. Without realizing, Tweek had fallen asleep on Craig’s thigh and Craig didn’t have the heart to wake him up. So he just let the blonde boy borrow his thigh as a pillow for the next hour.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to study tonight. I think I’m just gonna head straight to bed,” Tweek mumbled sleepily.

Craig laughed as he help Tweek walk over to the ladder. “I’m sure you’ll do fine even if you don’t study. You’re smart.”

Tweek just smiled.

The two climbed down the ladder, with some struggling from Tweek as he was still tired and was having difficulty keeping himself awake.

“You sure you can get home alone?” Craig asked when Tweek reached the ground.

Tweek nodded his head. “I just need to wake up a little. The walk home will help.”

“Alright,” Craig said, though he was still a little concerned. “You can go head. I’ll stay back a bit just in case so nobody will see us together.” That sentence left a bitter taste in Craig’s mouth.

“O-okay. I’ll see you here tomorrow.” Tweek flashed a little wave and turned around to head back to the town.

Once Tweek was out of sight, Craig leaned his back against the trunk of the tree. His mind ran through the last thing Tweek said.

I’ll see you here tomorrow.

He’s coming back tomorrow.

Craig couldn’t help but crack a smile.

 

* * *

 

 

There was honestly nothing that could ruin Craig’s day. He was at the height of his happiness, and nothing at this point can keep him from trying to climb any higher. He was able to spend his time after school with Tweek. His Tweek. Craig was over the moon. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this genuinely happy.

Craig found himself practically skipping his way back home.

Nothing could ruin his mood. Well, except for the sight of Kyle’s car parked in front of his house.

Craig froze to a halt when he saw the familiar red hybrid car. As far as he was aware, Kyle’s family were the only people in South Park that still drove hybrids.

Picking up his pace, Craig stormed over to the side of the car and peeked in, hoping that the red-head kid would have been smart enough to stay inside his car if he really was waiting for Craig. He mentally cursed to himself when he saw the driver seat empty.

He turned towards his house and practically ran up to the front door. Without hesitation, Craig threw the door open and cursed to himself again when he saw an uncomfortable looking Kyle sitting on his living room couch, a cup of coffee in his hands and Craig’s mother’s attention all over him, who was sitting right beside him. Craig’s father was sitting on his personal favorite chair, his full attention on the game playing on the television.

Everyone’s attention landed on Craig, except for his father who only took a quick glance at his son before looking back at the screen.

Craig was the first one to speak. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Craig. Respect.” Craig’s mother said in a hard tone. She then turned towards Kyle with bright smile. A smile that clearly made Kyle even more uncomfortable. “Kyle came looking for you, Craig. Twice. And since you still haven’t returned home by the second time he came by and we didn’t know where you were, I offered him to come inside and have some coffee while we wait for you.” She looked back towards Craig, her smile completely gone again. She was clearly mad that Craig didn’t tell her where he was.

Craig awkwardly cleared his throat. “I was, uh, at the library.”

His father grunted. “If you’re gonna lie, son, at least make the lie believable.”

Craig shot his father an annoyed look before glaring over at Kyle, who has been trying to avoid eye contact this whole time. “Why are you here?”

“Craig!” His mother snapped again.

“It’s fine,” Kyle assured her. Craig’s mother smiled at the guest before standing up.

“I’ll go get us some snacks.” She shot Craig one last hard look before making her way over to the kitchen. Craig was going to hear it from her later, no doubt. If there was one thing Craig was never good at, it was hospitality.

“Seriously, dude. What are you doing here?” Craig asked again once his mother was out of earshot.

Kyle glanced over at Craig’s dad, who’s eyes and ears were still glued to the television set in front of him. “Can we… talk outside?”

After thanking Craig’s mother for the coffee and assuring her that he was fine leaving without having any snacks, the two boys finally made their way outside and onto Craig’s front steps. The two stood there for a moment, an awkward atmosphere hanging between the two.

“So,” Caig said once he was unable to stand the uncomfortable silence, “Care to explain why the hell you’re having coffee with my mom in my house?”

Kyle scoffed. “I didn’t come here to have coffee with your mom. I don’t even like coffee. I came here to talk to you, but you weren’t home.”

“And why did you want to talk to me? Don’t you think we talked enough at school today?” Craig asked bitterly.

“Well, that’s the thing,” Kyle said, he was once again avoiding eye contact, and Craig was a bit glad about that. “I wanted to talk about what happened earlier. You know, at lunch.”

Craig really didn’t want to talk about what had happened. At least, not now. Not after having a such a good evening with Tweek. He didn’t want to think about Kyle and the conversation they had during lunch. He wanted to spend the rest of the night thinking about Tweek and how cute he looked while asleep on his lap. But despite feeling like that, Craig still found himself saying, “Sure.”

Kyle looked up at Craig’s house and then towards his car. He turned his head back towards Craig and shot him a sheepish smile. “Want to go for a drive?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny let out a genuine laugh. “Tweek is pretty special, I can’t lie. He’s also a close friend, dude.”
> 
> Craig turned to look at Kenny, an eyebrow raised. “What are you saying?”
> 
> “Don’t fuck it up with him.”
> 
> Craig stared at Kenny, waiting for something more. But when nothing else came from the blond boy, Craig nodded. “I’m not planning to.”

The car ride was quiet, and Craig was beginning to think agreeing to this was a bad idea. Kyle kept his eyes on the road while Craig kept his out the passenger window and watched the familiar houses pass by. The two drove around South Park for almost half an hour, without a single word spoken between them. Eventually, Craig couldn’t handle the silence.

“So, are you going to explain to me why you came all the way to my house or are we just gonna spend the night driving around without talking?”

Kyle chuckled to himself. “I guess I’m just a little nervous.”

Nervous about what? Craig was honestly not in the mood to be dealing with this. He didn’t even want to come on this car ride with Kyle. But something inside was telling him that he should come along.

“I don’t even know how to start,” Kyle mumbled.

Craig rolled his eyes. “Maybe start off with the fact that you asked me out on a date. Do you like me, dude?”

The hesitation from Kyle to respond didn’t go unnoticed and Craig was beginning to get irritated at how Kyle was clearing trying his best to avoid giving him a straight answer to this whole thing. Craig didn’t want to waste any more time on this. He just wanted to go home.

It took another moment of silence before Kyle spoke again. “I’ll be completely honest with you, Craig. You and I are so different, I could be deep in love with you and I would still know that it wouldn’t work out between us.”

“So why the hell did you ask me out? What’s going on?”

Kyle had stopped driving by now and Craig realized then that they were parked right in front of Stark’s Pond. The sun had been set already, which made the water in front of them look pitch black. Craig couldn’t remember the last time he had came to this pond. It used to be a hangout spot for him and the guys when they were younger, but as they grew older and the gang grew apart, the trips to Stark’s Pond became less frequent and eventually came to a stop. Only a handful of time had he come here with Tweek, but even those times were rare and forgettable.

Kyle let out a long sigh before sitting back in his seat and looked straight ahead at the pond. “I have a lot of crap that’s been going on lately,” Kyle began slowly. He sighed one more time. “Stuff that I’m really tired of dealing with. But I can’t seem to cut out it of my life for some reason. Every time I try to walk away from it, he- I mean, it… it just drags me back in. I spend most of my time second guessing everything and I’m just really tired of it all.”

Craig was confused. “What does this have to do with me?” Craig didn’t have any involvement with whatever it was that was going on in Kyle’s life and he didn’t want to.

Kyle looked over at him. “I want something stable in my life, even if it’s just for a moment.”

“I still don’t get what you mean.”

“I look at you, Craig, and I see someone who knows what he wants. You’re someone who says what’s on your mind, regardless of whether it’ll hurt other people or not. You don’t play mind games with people, you don’t say one thing but mean something else. You’re straightforward, upfront, and I want something like that in my life. I need something like that.” Craig noticed a dejected look cross his face as he turned to look back towards the pond. “I know it’ll never work out between us. I'm not expecting it to. But I thought, even just for a day, it’d be nice to have something, someone, stable to talk to and spend some time with. Someone who doesn't make me second guess everything. I thought that maybe you could be that stable person. Even if it’s just for a couple of hours.”

Craig was having a hard time taking everything in. Kyle didn’t ask him out because he had feelings for him. But instead because he felt like spending a couple of hours with Craig was something that he needed. He still didn’t understand what Kyle meant when he said that Craig was someone ‘stable’. It's true that it was hard to have anything faze Craig. He spent a majority of life not giving a shit about what anyone thought of him, which made it easy for him to say whatever is on his mind without the fear of other’s judgement.

But Craig knew that lately he hasn’t been as well balanced as he normally is. His break up with Tweek has caused him to become easily agitated and distracted. But he must have been to hide it well if Kyle still thinks of him as someone ‘stable’.

“I couldn’t think of anyone else,” Kyle continued once he noticed that Craig wasn’t giving a response, “You were the first person I thought of. And it wasn’t like I thought about all this just yesterday. I’ve been considering asking you for over a month now. Plus, it’s not like I had much options to choose from either. South Park unsurprising doesn't really have that much openly gay people to pick from.”

“You’re gay?” Craig found himself asking.

Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “I think so. I’ve liked girls before, but lately I haven’t been looking at them like the other guys do. I'm still trying to figure things out.”

So the rumors were true. Kyle was gay. Or at least on the spectrum. This was all too much. Craig was beginning to get a headache. “Kyle,” Craig said after a long minute of silence, “I don’t like you. Romantically, or even as a person.”

Kyle slightly chuckled. “I know that much.” He sighed once again and rested his hands on the steering wheel. “I guess I had a small hope that something could work out for me for once. I knew asking you out was a long stretch and the chances of you saying yes was slim, but I figured I’d give it a try anyways. Everything in my life has been going downhill as it is, a rejection from you wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to me.” His grip on the steering wheel tightened. “I know none of this probably makes sense to you. It barely makes any sense to me. But when I thought of having someone like you in my life, I felt content.”

It didn’t make sense, and Craig still couldn’t put a finger on what Kyle was trying to say. But he still found himself saying something he never thought he would. “If you think going on this date is something that you need, then I guess we can do it.”

Kyle eyes widen as he looked over to Craig. “You really mean it?”

Craig shrugged his shoulders. He purposely kept his eyes on the pond to avoid eye contact. “Sure. Whatever.”

How bad could one date be?

 

* * *

 

They made the agreement to have the date the following friday after Kyle’s student council meeting, which gave Craig a week to mentally prepare himself. Kyle was to pick Craig up around 6 o’clock, and the two would go to the only McDonald's in South Park to grab something to eat. It shouldn’t take longer than an hour, which was good enough for Craig. The faster the date was, the faster he could get over this whole crap.

If this was in any other case, Craig would have rejected Kyle’s proposal for a date without a second thought. But Kyle looked so desperate while trying to explain why he even asked Craig out in the first place, that Craig only agreed just to get it over with. Kyle himself even said he just need one date, and that was all it was going to be: just one date.

Craig made sure to keep the whole thing with Kyle to himself. He knew if the guys found out, they weren’t going to let him live it down. Craig going on a date with someone from Stan’s group? What a joke.

And he definitely made sure to keep it a secret from Tweek. There was no way in hell that Craig was going to let Tweek find out he was going to go out with another guy. It will ruin all chances of ever getting back with Tweek, and Craig would rather suck Kenny’s dick then let that happen. He had managed to make it this far with Tweek and he wasn’t going to let anything ruin his chances of getting him back.

The week went by a lot faster than Craig had hoped, and before he knew it, it was the day before his petty date with Kyle.

Craig was sitting with Kenny on the front steps of Kenny’s house, the urge of smoking itching on his fingers. Kenny blew out a puff of smoke before offering his cigarette to Craig. Craig glanced down at the cancer stick and shook his head, turning it down.

“Why not?” Kenny asked. Despite questioning Craig, he still took back the cigarette and took another drag.

“I can’t have the smell on me.” It was a simple answer that Kenny acceptes without further questioning.

Craig was waiting for a text from Tweek, who had called earlier to tell him he was going to stay back after school to meet up with his science study group. They were then going to meet up again at the treehouse once he was done, so Craig figured he’d spend his time waiting at Kenny’s house, mainly because it was close by the woods, but also because Kenny had been acting a little weird this past week and curiosity had gotten the better of Craig.

“How much longer before lover boy gets out of that cult meeting?”

“It’s a study group,” Craig mumbled, “He’s only going to be in there for an hour.”

Kenny snickered and took another drag. “And what do I have the honor for your graceful presence? Shouldn’t you be with, I don’t know, Clyde or Token?”

Craig had spent all morning with Clyde after convincing the latter to skip classes with him and hang out by the docks. It was nice and all until Clyde, somehow, managed to slip and fall into the waters. He spent the rest of the day cursing and being moody that Craig, despite finding the whole find thing absolutely hilarious, decided he had enough of Clyde for the day and went home.

“I’m only waiting for Tweek,” Craig said. “I didn’t ask you to come out here.”

“Can you blame me for being curious when I saw someone as hot as you sitting on my front steps? I had to check it out.”

Craig flipped Kenny off and watched as Kenny finished up his cigarette and threw the butt off to the side. “I'm not interested,” Craig muttered, “Besides, I bet you have Butters waiting for you somewhere so you guys can go fuck somewhere.”

The mention of Butters wiped the smirk that Kenny had on his face, and the action didn’t go unnoticed by Craig. “He went out of town today. Visiting his grandma or some bullshit along those lines.” He pulled out his pack of cigarettes to pull out another, but cursed under his breath when he realized he had smoked his last one.

“Sounds like you're a little bitter with the idea that your fuck buddy isn’t around,” Craig commented.

Kenny didn’t respond. He tossed the empty pack off to the side where he had thrown his cigarette butt earlier and pulled his face mask to cover his mouth. “It’s been a little weird with Butters lately,” Kenny said, though it was a little muffled with his face mask now covering his face.

“Trouble in paradise?” Not that Craig really cared. But he couldn’t remember there ever being a concerning issue with Kenny and one of his ‘sex partners’. Whenever Kenny had a problem with one of them, he’d just simply cut them off and continue living his life like nothing happened.

Kenny sigh and ran his hand through his blond hair. “I don’t know. It’s just been weird.”

“Weird as in?”

“Weird is weird, dude,” Kenny grumbled. “I don’t want to talk about it, alright.”

Craig shrugged his shoulder, figuring that was that. He looked down at his phone screen and noticed he had gotten a text from Tweek, stating that he was going to stay with the study group a little longer than planned. Great, Craig thought, that meant even less time to spend with Tweek.

Craig should be glad, though. He honestly hadn’t thought that Tweek would be so open with the idea of meeting at the treehouse everyday after school. But the two continued to meet up there on a regular basis since the first time Craig had him dragged there by Kenny. And being able to see Tweek everyday was a dream he never thought would come true since their break up.

“He was talking to me about some dude the other day.”

Craig looked over from his phone and towards Kenny, who had an agitated look on his face. “What?”

“Some dude,” Kenny continued, “Some kid named Bradley. Apparently they went to the same camp when they were younger and they managed to reunite through facebook. I took Butters out to eat the other day and the whole time it was ‘Bradley this’ and ‘Bradley that’.”

Craig was confused for a second. He wasn’t really sure what Kenny was rambling around. “You’re talking about Bradley Biggle?”

“Not that Bradley,” Kenny said, “Bradley Biggle knows better than to mess around with Butters.”

“Wait, Butters fucking this Bradley kid?” Craig asked, still not sure what Kenny was talking about.

“No,” Kenny snapped, “I mean, I don’t think he is. He better not be.”

Craig raised an eyebrow. “Why can’t he?” he challenged, “You fuck other people all the time? Butters should be able to do the same. It’s not like you guys are in a committed relationship.”

Kenny remained silent as the realization hit him. He turned his body so that he was now facing Craig and pulled down his face mask. “Do you think he’s really sleeping with that kid?”

Craig wanted to laugh at the concern look that was on Kenny’s face. “I don’t think anything,” he said, “I could care less about whatever Butters does with his free time.”

That didn’t help Kenny calm down, but instead aggravated him even more. “Dude, I’m being serious here. He spent the whole time talking about this kid I don’t even know. What if he really is seeing him? What if that’s what he’s doing right now?”

“Totally,” Craig muttered with a roll of his eyes. “Butters gotten so good with sneaking around because of you, I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s probably getting his ass fucked right now by that Bradley kid and you’re sitting here with me.”

“Fuck you.”

“Why do you even care,” Craig said. “Butters can do whatever he want.”

Kenny stared at Craig for a moment. He let out another sigh and stood up. “You’re right,” Kenny said while stuffing his hands in his pockets, “Butters can fuck whoever he wants, and so can I.” With that Kenny turned back towards his house and went inside, leaving Craig alone on the steps.

Craig looked back at the front door before shrugging his shoulders and putting his attention back on his phone. Tweek had just texted that he was on his way. Craig cracked a smile and stood up to make his way into the woods.

 

* * *

 

Despite spending over an hour with a study group, Tweek still had his nose in his textbook while spending his time with Craig in the treehouse. He had a test tomorrow, a test Tweek had claimed several time as ‘the most important test in his high school career’. Which Craig found ironic because Tweek said the same thing about the last test he had.

But Craig didn’t mind that Tweek was still studying because it gave him the chance to just sit there and watch Tweek. Tweek had worn a baggy t-shirt that Craig recognized as one of Tweek’s sleeping shirt. This kid clearly had rolled out of bed and didn’t bothered to get changed for school. He was probably filled with anxiety because of the test, which was something that happened before.

“You’re not cold?” Craig asked. He was laying on his back with his head turned so that he was looking directly at Tweek.

While it wasn’t too cold today, it was chilly enough for Craig to question how Tweek was okay with being out in a short sleeve shirt. There was no heating in the treehouse, so it wasn’t like it was warm inside either.

“Huh?” Tweek barely looked up from his book at Craig before looking back down. “Uh, I’m fine.”

“Your nose is red.”

Tweek ignored Craig’s comment and flipped the page.

Craig frowned. He was beginning to realize he hated when Tweek studied. It meant being ignored and being ignored made him annoyed.

“Want to borrow my sweater?” Craig at least had a long sleeve underneath so he didn’t mind giving it up for Tweek.

“I said I’m fine,” Tweek mumbled.

“I can see goosebumps on your arms.”

“Geez, Craig” Tweek snapped. He finally tore his gaze away from his book to glare at Craig. “I’m trying to study and you’re distracting me. I can’t afford to fail this test, dude. It’s like a third of my final grade.”

“You’ve been studying for this test all week. You’ll do fine.” Craig sat up and sat pretzel style. “You always do fine on your tests,” he reassures.

“I just- I just don’t want to fuck it up again,” Tweek said. “I didn’t take my meds last time and I was lucky the teacher gave me a second chance to retake the test. What if I do it again? I need to know the material, that way if I do forget the meds then I won’t be as much of a mess since I’ll already know the answers. Does that make sense?”

“That makes perfect sense,” Craig says, “But you’ll get sick if you don’t cover up. And if you get sick then you’ll definitely won’t be able to take the test.”

An anxious look struck Tweek’s face. “Give me your sweater.”

Craig couldn’t help but get excited at the sight of Tweek in his sweater. Of course, he kept his excitement to himself, but he still took a moment to marvel at how his sweater was just a tad too big for Tweek’s small build, and was hung loosely on the blond boy.

“Better?’ Craig asked once Tweek pulled the zipper up as high as he could.

Tweek nodded his head. He reached over to grab his textbook, but Craig managed to swipe it before Tweek could even touch it. “Dude,” Tweek whined, “I need to study.”

“You studied all week. You met up with a study group today. You need a break.” Craig put the textbook aside and away from Tweek’s reach. “I downloaded a movie on my phone last night. Let’s just relax and watch it.”

Tweek clearly didn’t like the idea. His shaking hands tried to reach over to grab the book, but Craig grab ahold of his hands, mainly to stop the shaking. “But- but I really need to study, dude.”

“Tweek,” Craig said. He looked down at Tweek, whose eyes were still locked on the textbook sitting on the floor. “What are the three parts of an atom?”

Tweek blink up at Craig. “Protons, neutrons and electrons.”

“Electrons have?”

“A negative charge.”

“And protons have?”

“A positive one.”

“See?” Craig said with a grin, “You got this test in the bag. Now let’s watch this movie. It’s a foreign film from Canada, so you know it’s gonna suck. I know how much you like bad movies.” It was something that the two of them used to do on the days when they didn’t feel like going out while they were still dating. Tweek was a fan of foreign films, mainly because he thought all of them sucked and he enjoyed making fun of them. That goes with any bad movie, but he preferred the foreign ones. So the two of them would cuddle up on Craig’s bed, put on the first foreign film they can find online and make fun of everything, from the awkward acting to the terrible effects.

“But-but those were easy questions, Craig! That's middle school stuff.”

“You’re going to ace the test, so let’s take a break and watch this movie before my batteries die. This movie took up a shitload of space on my phone.”

Craig could tell that Tweek wanted to protest, but he took his moment of hesitation to settle down next to the blond boy and press play on his phone.

“What movie is this anyways?” Tweek asked as the opening credits began to show on the screen. He had trouble properly seeing everything on the small screen of Craig’s phone, so he scooted closer to Craig until their thighs were touching.

“Something about a Loch Ness monster, but like the canadian version of it.” Craig tried to ignore how good Tweek smelled and how that scent was most likely going to stay on his sweater.

To Craig’s luck, the movie was terrible and made absolutely no sense. Which was a good thing because it had Tweek laughing his head off at almost every scene and had him leaning onto Craig each time as if he couldn’t keep himself up whenever he went into a giggle fit. This encouraged Craig to crack as many jokes as he could just to keep Tweak laughing and clinging onto him. At the beginning of the movie, Tweek would occasionally glance over at his textbook as if he was internally debating on going back to studying. But it wasn’t long until he completely forgot about tomorrow’s test and had his hands on his stomach due to the cramps from laughing too much.

“Do they really think a canon is gonna kill that thing?” Craig said with a wide smile. “They have smartphones and tablets in this movie, yet they’re trying to battle a monster with the same weapons they used during the civil war.” Craig’s smile grew wider when his comment made Tweek go into another laughing fit.

“Dude,” Tweek tried to say in between laughter, “They’re canadians. They didn’t have a civil war like we did.”

“You know what I mean. They can’t kill the Loch Ness monster with a bunch of heavy black balls.”

Tweek laughed even harder, probably at the mention of ‘heavy black balls’.

Craig wasn’t laughing as much as Tweek was throughout the movie, but he couldn’t help the silly grin whenever Tweek couldn't hold himself back.

“Aw, dude,” Tweek said after another laughing fit due to an unusual and out of place romance scene between the main character and a random chick that suddenly appeared in the storyline, “My stomach hurts. I feel so light-headed.”

Craig was just about to ask if Tweek wanted to rest his head on one of Kenny’s pillows. They were still here and piled up in the corner since the first day they hung out in the tree house. Craig opened his mouth to offer to grab one, but he froze when he felt Tweek leaning his forehead on Craig’s shoulder.

“Where did you even find this movie?” Tweek said, though it was a little muffled by Craig’s shoulder.

Craig tried to ignore the way his face was beginning to heat up. “Uh, google.”

Tweek turned his head to look back at this screen, but it was still resting on Craig’s shoulder. The romance scene was still going on, but it was now getting sappy and the humor in it was gone. The two watched the scene with mild interest.

“I guess you were right,” Tweek said once it was obvious that the scene wasn’t going to end any time soon and he was already over the awkward acting between the main character and his love interest. “I needed a break.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard. It’s not good for your mental health.”

Tweek didn’t respond to that and just continued staring at the phone.

The movie ended about thirty minutes later, and while even the ending was hilariously terrible, Tweek was all laughed out that he was only able to manage to a small snicker as Craig went into his storage settings to delete the movie off of his phone. He mentally noted that next time he’d download the movie on his tablet so that they’d have a bigger screen to look at. But that also meant not having an excuse to sit so closely to Tweek, so maybe he’ll hold off using the tablet. Throughout the rest of the movie Tweek did not remove his head from Craig’s shoulder, not that he minded. Craig was secretly living in his own little happy world throughout the whole thing, and had to hold in the groan of protest that was threatening to come out when Tweek finally removed his head in favor of looking out the door to check how dark it was outside. The sun had already set and the woods were pitch black. They had stayed at the treehouse much longer than they had planned.

“I think- I think we should go. Jesus, it’s dark as hell outside. How are we supposed to walk through the woods. What if we get lost?” Tweek eyes were wide and he looked towards Craig in hopes that Craig had a plan.

Craig packed up Tweek’s books into his backpack and met with the blond at the door. “My phone has a flashlight,” Craig said as he handed Tweek the bag. “But we’ll have to leave together.”

“Together?” Tweek said nervously, “Someone might see us, though. And what if your battery dies?”

“My batter will be fine. And no one will see us. It’s late. And if someone does see us, well, hopefully it’ll be too dark for them to recognize our faces.”

Tweek still wasn’t convinced, so Craig decided to pull out the guilt card. “You can take my phone and go ahead without me. I’ll stay back for a while and then, I don’t know, try to find a way out on my own. Alone. In the wood. At night.”

“Jesus no!” Tweek practically screeched. His hand instantly reached up and grabbed onto Craig’s arm, as if he was afraid that Craig was going to disappear on him right at that moment. “Together. We’re going together. You’ll die if you go alone.”

Tweek took his sweet time to climb down the ladder, mainly because he was afraid he was going to slip and fall. He watched in agony while Craig climbed down, constantly reminding him to be careful after every step he took. Normally this would have annoyed Craig, but Craig was honestly enjoying the attention Tweek was giving him.

Thanks to the light on Craig’s phone, it was easy for them to find their way out of the woods and back into Kenny’s neighborhood. The whole time Tweek clung onto Craig’s shirt, as if he was afraid letting go meant the two would get separated and he would be stuck in the woods for the rest of his life.

Before fully exiting the woods, Craig took a moment to scan the street to make sure nobody was around to spot them emerging from the woods together. Once he was sure the coast was clear, and after convincing Tweek they were completely alone, the two finally headed down the street together.

The street was full of light due to the street lamps so Craig was able to put his phone away. The two walked together for a while before they stopped when they noticed they were getting closer to Main Street, which no doubt would be filled with people. “Do you, uh, want to go on ahead?”

Tweek looked confused for a moment before he realized what Craig meant. “Uh, yeah. Sure.” He sounded like he had more to say, but kept it to himself.

“Text me so I know got home safe.”

“Sure, mom,” Tweek said with a toothy grin. He slung his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Craig was about to answer with a yes, but he then remembered he had agreed to go on that date with Kyle tomorrow. “Actually, I have something planned.”

Tweek genuinely looked upset when he asked, “So no tree house?”

That look alone was almost enough to make Craig cancel his plans, but he knew it was already too late. “Saturday.”

Tweek bit his lip, but then smiled again. “Alright. See you Saturday.”

Craig watched Tweek walk away until he was no longer in sight. With a sigh, Craig turned around and headed back toward Kenny’s house. He figured he’d give it some time before heading home himself, so he decided to sit at Kenny’s steps again and kill some time. The lights to the house were out, which probably meant nobody was home. Craig didn’t mind since he wasn’t planning on knocking anyways, he just wanted to sit.

He spent some time lazily scrolling through his phone, responding to any messages he received today, which were mainly messages from Clyde and one from Jimmy. Kyle also messaged him to ask if tomorrow was still on. Despite the slight feeling of regret for ever agreeing on this, he responded back with a simple ‘yeah’. Craig was too invested in reading the texts of complaints from Clyde about how he still reeked of ocean water, that Craig was completely unaware of someone opening the house door he was sitting in front of. It wasn’t until he heard a shriek that Craig jumped and looked up to see a woman he’s never seen before standing at Kenny’s door entrance and staring down at him was an angry look.

“What the hell are you doing there?” She snapped at him. “Get out of here, you hobo!”

Craig was less offended at the fact that she was practically yelling at him and more offended that she assumed he was a hobo. Did he look like his was homeless? “Don’t tell me what to do, you old hag.”

“Old?” She said in offense, “I’m not even in my mid twenties, you little twerp! Not get out of here before I call the cops on you.”

Craig rolled his eyes as he stood up to get a better look at the woman. She has dirty blond hair and obviously fake boobs. She was wearing less clothing than someone living in the cold town of South Park should be wearing. “You dumbass,” Craig said as he eyed the smudge lipstick on her face, “Don’t you know the cops don’t give two shits about this part of town.”

  
The woman looked like she was about to retaliate at the dumbass comment, but the front door open wider as Kenny stepped out to see what the commotion was about. He was wearing a pair of black boxers and a stained wife beater.

Kenny looked genuinely surprised to see Craig standing by his front steps and even more surprised to see that the women still hasn’t left his house.

Kenny smirked as he leaned against the door frame, completely ignoring the angry woman beside him. “Look at this. I never thought I’d see the day that Craig Tucker would be coming to my house this late at night. Dreams do come true.”

“Fuck you,” Craig snapped. “I was only using your steps to sit down while I killed time.”

“We can kill time by doing other things, you know.” Kenny wiggled his eyebrows and laughed when Craig flipped him off.

“Sorry, but I’m not one of your little whores here for a fuck.” Craig noticed the enraged face by the woman, but ignored her.

“Come inside at least, dude. The cops might not come around these parts, but the neighbors won’t hesitate to come out with a gun if they see some strange kid hanging around one of the houses by himself at this time.”

Craig wanted to turn down the offer, but he also didn’t want to risk having any frontation with Kenny’s neighbors. They’re just as fucked up in the head as Kenny’s parents are.

“Fine,” Craig mumbled. He pushed passed Kenny and the woman and made himself comfortable on Kenny’s couch. He could hear Kenny talking to the woman, something along the lines of asking her why she was still here and her telling Kenny to fuck off before there was a loud sound of the front door slamming shut.

Craig took the time to take a good look at Kenny’s living room. He hasn’t been in here since he was a kid, but it didn’t look like anything changed after all these years. They still had the same run down couch with stains and rip holes all over it. The paint on the walls were peeling, profanity were written all over the walls and some of the furniture and the only thing hanging was a neon sign for pilsner beer. It reeked of alcohol and something else that Craig couldn’t put his finger on. It was no wonder why he never came here as a kid, or why any of the other kids didn’t come over. It was also no wonder why Kenny never wanted to be home himself. Craig did wonder how Butters could possibly come here on a regular basis.

“I would offer you something to drink, but all I have to offer are some heinekens that have been in the fridge for god knows how long.” Kenny emerged from the front door, looking seemingly pleased with himself for whatever reason.

“I’m good.”

“Sorry that my hospitality aren’t up to par. I usually don’t get visitors unless they’re going straight to my bedroom.”

“What do you offer Butters when he comes over?”

The mention of Butters had Kenny stiften for a moment, but he was able to compose himself quickly and threw himself onto the armchair that was directly across from Craig. “Is there a reason why you were sitting on my steps?”

Craig noted how Kenny completely disregarded his question. “Like I said, I was killing time.” At that moment he got a text. It was from Tweek, stating that he had returned home safe and sound and that his mother was now up his ass for coming home later than usual. Craig smiled at the text before sending a response, completely unaware of the look that Kenny was giving him.

“I’m assuming everything with Tweek has been going good?”

“Actually, everything has been great with us,” the smile was still on his face, “I think at this rate something can actually happen between us. You know-”

Craig wasn’t able to finish his sentence because there was a sudden bang at Kenny’s door. The two boys jumped at the sound of the noise and Kenny muttered a curse under his breath when the banging wouldn’t stop. “Probably the neighbor,” Kenny said, as if that was enough to justify what was going on.

The two tried to ignore the banging, hoping that whoever it was would get over it and leave. But the sound just continued and it wasn’t long before Kenny had enough of it. He stood up, ready to curse out whoever was at the door but at that moment a voice yelled out, “Open the door, Ken!” The voice sounded an awful lot like Butters.

The color drained from Kenny’s face and Craig figured he was about to be in the middle of something he really shouldn’t be in. Butters banged the door harder as he continued to demand for Kenny to open the door for him.

“Fuck,” Kenny said.

“Dude, open the door.” Craig snapped. It didn’t sound like Butters was going to get tired any time soon.

“I fucked up,” Kenny groaned. He ran his hand through his hair and desperately looked at Craig. “I didn’t think he’d actually come.”

“Dude, what did you do?”

“I wasn’t thinking, dude. I just-”

The door flew open and an enraged Butters stomped into the room. He scanned the room until his eyes landed on Kenny. “First of all,” he said once he made eye contact with Kenny, “I’m sorry for the noise. I didn’t know your door was unlock. Second,” he pointed an accusing finger towards Kenny, “How dare you!”

This made Kenny annoyed. “Me?” He said, pointing at himself, “What about you?”

“Me?” Butters snapped, “I wasn’t the one blowing up your phone and accusing you to be sleeping with some other guy!”

Craig felt himself sinking into the couch as he watched the scene in front of him. Holy shit, did he need to get out of here. If there's one thing he knows, it's to never be around when Butters is mad. He’s witnessed it before, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. It was rare to ever see Butters mad, so when the moment came you know you fucked up.

“What’s wrong with you,” Butters continued, his voice sounding like he was trying to hold back from yelling, most likely cause he didn’t want to disturb the neighbors. “You knew I went to visit my grandma today. And you still had the audacity to call and text me while you were high and try to accuse me of sleeping with Bradley? And then you have the nerves to send me a picture of some random chick in your bed, like if that was going to get back at me for something I didn’t even do? What were you thinking!”

For the first time in Craig’s life, he’d never seen Kenny looked so speechless. Kenny opened his mouth, as if he was ready to say something, but Butters cut him off as he continued on with his rant. “This is what I hate about you, Kenny. You act like I belong to you and I can't be with anybody else, yet you’re allowed to sleep with a new person every night! News flash, Kenny, Bradley lives in freakin’ Texas! I got in touch with him on facebook. Facebook! Like I told you! So you tell me how the hell could I be sleeping with him when he lives in another state!”

If Kenny looked speechless before, he definitely looked dumbfounded now.

“But that's not the point,” Butters went on, “The point is that even if I was sleeping with someone it's none of your business! We’re not dating and you mess around with people all the time, so why can't I? Do you know how much convincing it took to finally get my dad drive me back to South Park so I can come here? I’m definitely going to get grounded for making us leave my grandma's so early.”

“No one told you to come,” Kenny said bitterly. It was clear he was trying to hold back his anger just as much as Butters was trying to told back his raising voice.

“You’re right,” Butters spat, “I came on my own to tell you face to face that I’m over this. I’m tired of getting into these arguments with you just because you don’t know what you want. I know what I want, but I’m not waiting for you anymore, Ken. Don’t call me anymore. I’m not going to answer.”

Kenny wanted to retaliate, but Butters didn’t give him the chance. Butters stormed out the house, slamming the door behind him, and leaving the two boys gaping at the spot Butters had been standing.

It was quiet for what felt like forever, and Craig knew it was probably best for him to leave. But after that whole scene, it felt too awkward to even speak, so he kept his eyes glued to the floor in hopes that Kenny would say something first.

“Do you think he hates me?”

Craig looked up. Kenny was sitting back in the arm chair, but he looked as though his life just crumbled into pieces. Craig opened his mouth to respond, but closed it before saying anything. It was better to just keep out of this.

“God damn it,” Kenny groaned, “I’ve never seen him so mad. I mean, we’ve gotten into fights before, but he normally won’t leave until we settled whatever we were arguing about. This time he didn’t even let me talk. Fuck.”

“Is there,” Craig slowly began, “Is there something between you guys that no one else knows about?”

“Like what?”

“Are you guys more than just fuck buddies?” He knew it wasn’t his business, but Kenny had never looked so crushed before.

“It doesn’t matter what we are now,” Kenny mumbled, “I fucked up and he hates me.”

Craig rolled his eyes. “Butters doesn’t hate you. That guy doesn’t even know what the concept of hate is. Just… just give him some space for a while to settle down.”

Kenny looked over at Craig. He let out a sigh and nodded his head. “I guess.”

Now was a good time to make his way out. Craig stood up. “I think it’s time for me to head home.”

“Yeah. Karen should be coming back from her friend’s house soon. I don’t need her seeing you. She’ll try to convince you to stay here forever.”

Craig cracked a grin. “Can you blame her? I’m quite a catch, if you haven’t noticed.”

For the first time since Butters barged in, Kenny cracked a smiled. “Trust me, pretty boy, I’ve noticed. Too bad Tweety Bird already has bids on you.”

“Are you kidding me,” Craig said as he made his way to the door. “Tweek is by far a better catch then I am. Have you seen the guy? Like, fuck.” Tweek was gorgeous.

Kenny let out a genuine laugh. “Tweek is pretty special, I can’t lie. He’s also a close friend, dude.”

Craig turned to look at Kenny, an eyebrow raised. “What are you saying?”

“Don’t fuck it up with him.”

Craig stared at Kenny, waiting for something more. But when nothing else came from the blond boy, Craig nodded. “I’m not planning to.”

 

* * *

 

  
Craig couldn't remember the last time that he woke up before the sun was even up. There sky was still dark and the only noise he heard was the sound coming from the alarm clock on his bedside table. The red letters flashed 5:40 AM, and it took all Craig had not to pull the plug and go back to sleep.

It took longer than it should have, but Craig finally managed to pull himself out of bed. He knew he didn't have the energy to shower, or even wash his face, so Craig took his slow time throwing whatever pair of jeans he could find that didn't smell like cigarettes and the first sweater he got his hands on. He quietly made his way downstairs, avoiding the one creaky step on his staircase, and made his way out the door before his dad could catch him up so early.

There should be a law in Colorado that states that anyone under the age of 21 shouldn't be allow to be up at this time. Craig could feel his eyes heavy and spent the walk to school fighting off the sleep that was slowly overtaking him.

Classes didn’t start until 7:30, but Craig had something to do before then. Earlier this week he had made an appointment to talk with someone in regards to the Asian girl’s disappearance. Token had mentioned that it was all due to a student exchange program that was now cut due to school budgets, but Craig wasn't going to believe it until he heard it from someone who had connections in the school.

Which was why he had dragged himself out of bed at such an ungodly hour on a Friday morning.

The school was already opened by the time Craig had got to it, which made sense due to the clubs and committees that met before classes. The halls were empty, but Craig could hear voices coming from some of the classrooms as he passed by. He made it to the lecture hall, which was only ever reserved for important things like parent teacher nights, guest speakers, and in this case, student council meetings.

Craig knocked on the door and within a minute, a girl with blonde hair opened the door. Craig recognized as being Sally Darson. She scanned Craig’s messy appearance and frowned. “You're not part of the student council.”

“Clearly,” Craig grumbled. His usual bad mood was much worst when he’s forced to wake up so early. “I'm here to talk with the class Prez.”

She took another look at Craig. Craig didn't blame her, he didn't wash his face or brush his teeth before coming here. His plan was to go back to bed after this and sleep until noon, so why even bother getting himself properly ready.

“The class president doesn't come for the morning meetings. She’ll be here for the meeting after school with the rest of the student council members.”

“I made an appointment,” Craig grumbled, “I'm not leaving until I talk to someone.” How on earth would they make an appointment for him when the president wasn't even going to be here.

Sally rolled her eyes and opened the door wider, allowing Craig space to walk in. There was only two other people inside the room, Scott Malkinson and Wendy Testaburger.

“You can talk to the Vice President,” Sally said to Craig. “Wendy, this guy needs to talk to you. He has an appointment apparently.”

Wendy looked up from the pile of papers that she and Scott were going through. She took a good look at Craig, as if she was trying to figure out why he was here. Craig was known for not being a social member of the student body, so his presence at a student council meeting was enough to raise questions.

“Uh, sure.” Wendy stood up and made her way over to the door. “We can talk in the room next door.”

Wendy hadn't change much over the years. She was still one of the most proactive students, being the Vice President and co captain of the cheerleading squad. She also runs a handful of volunteer groups, and is aiming to be valedictorian for their grade. Craig couldn't understand how she manage to have the time to do all that and still look like she gets her 8 hours of sleep at night, which Craig highly doubts she does.

The two entered the classroom next door and sat down at one of the desk so that they were facing each other. It seemed as though Wendy wasn't sure how to start, despite Craig knowing that she's probably done this a shitload of times before. Wendy was never Craig’s biggest fan, and Craig didn’t like her all that much either. She was too stubborn for his liking, which was ironic because he was probably just as stubborn, maybe even worst.

“This is,” Wendy bit her lip as she tried to find the right word, “surprising.”

Craig shrugged his shoulder. “Yeah, well. There's a first for everything.”

“I just never pictured you as someone who’d want to talk to the class president.”

In all honesty, Craig didn't want to talk to anybody from the student council. He tried getting his questions answered from the women in the school office, but she claimed that anything related to school budgets was for the student council and that he needed to make an appointment to talk to them.

“I just have some questions, VP.”

Wendy seemed to be displeased at Craig’s tone, but Craig was pretty sure it was the fact that he called her Vice President. It was no secret that Wendy was still bitter of the fact that their class had voted Heidi Turner as Class President in 8th grade, finally breaking Wendy’s 7 year record as being CP.

But it was more than just that, however. That same year she lost the Class President race, she also was replaced as captain of the cheerleading team by Lisa Berger, lost her spot as top of the Class by Kyle Broflovski, as well as her parents having a divorce and finally getting dumped by Stan. It was a rough year of Wendy, but she seems to be holding herself well these last few years since then.

The only reason Craig was even aware about what was going on in Wendy’s life was all because of Tweek. Despite is being clear that the whole grade was leaning towards Heidi as a new Class President, Tweek still prayed for Wendy to win the race, only because he was afraid of change and thought having a new Class President would bring chaos to the school. He forced Craig and the rest of the guys to vote for Wendy, even though Craig had already decided he wasn’t going to vote. At the end, Heidi won 85% of the votes.

“I apologize that Heidi isn't here for your appointment. What can I help you with?”

“Actually,” Craig said as he leaned into his chair, “You might help more than Heidi would have. I want to know what happened with that student exchange program thing. You know, the one that the Asian girls were apparently part of.”

Wendy raised an eyebrow, curious as to why Craig was concerned about that topic. But she answered anyways. “Well, we started having some budget issues and apparently your president decided that having new bleachers for the gymnasium was much more important than providing once in a lifetime experiences.”

“Uh huh,” Craig said, “And that means?”

“We no longer have the program. I worked so hard to have kept it running all those years and Heidi cut it off in a heartbeat. Do you know how many baked sales I ran just to afford keeping the program running.” Yeah, she was clearly still bitter.

“So then the Asian girls are gone. And they're not coming back?”

“I've tried opening the case of possibly raising some money to bring the program back, but so far it doesn't seem like it'll happen any time soon.” Wendy sighed. “All that hard work for nothing.”

“So there's no way they're gonna come back?”

“I just said no.”

“Like at all?”

“...No.”

Craig wanted to cry tears of happiness. This was it, this was his ticket. The Asian girls, the main reason why Tweek broke up with him, are now gone. No more fan arts, no more fanfics. He could hug Wendy right now.

“How come no one noticed they were gone?” Craig asked. It took even himself weeks before he realized they have left, but he had assumed it was because he no longer bothered to go to class anymore. But even Kevin and Clyde hadn't noticed they were missing until Craig pointed it out to them.

“No one really noticed them even when they were here,” Wendy said. “The language barrier kind of had them keep to themselves so no one else really interacted with them. So I'm not surprised no one realized they left.”

That made sense. Craig probably would have notice earlier if he hadn't broken up with Tweek. The fact that Tweek and Craig were no longer receiving stuff from them made it seem like it was because of the break up, when in reality it was because they were no longer in the school. And now that they're no longer around, if Tweek and Craig do get back together, they’ll no longer have to worry about getting weird drawings or stories of them.

“Um, Craig, why are you smiling like that?”

Craig hadn't noticed the silly grin that grew on his face. He returned to his stoic look and cleared his throat. “I'm leaving now.”

Wendy blinked at him. “Was that all you needed?”

Craig just nodded his head before getting up and leaving the room.

Tweek hadn't mentioned anything about the Asian girls since their first week of their break up. Craig wasn't even sure if Tweek was aware at they were gone. He mentioned something if he did?

Well, at least now Craig knew he no longer needed to worry about people stalking his relationship anymore. And now he no longer has anything stopping him from truly pursuing something with Tweek. Except for his own fear of rejection.

But he'll worry about that later. Right now he just needs his bed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Craig, you feeling okay?”
> 
> Craig slowly put his hand back down to his side and didn’t bother to get rid of the smile on his face. “Yeah. Couldn’t be better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me forever to write this chapter for two reasons. 
> 
> One: When you work in retail during the holidays, you’re always tired
> 
> Two: I was not feeling this chapter at all
> 
> But enjoy!

Kenny couldn’t remember the last time he woke up with a major hangover. But the familiar throbbing pain in his head wasn’t something that he particularly missed. The dryness in his throat and the nauseous feeling in his stomach was enough for Kenny to want to stay in bed for the rest of his life and never leave.

But something seemed a bit off about his bed. It didn’t feel as lumpy as it normally did. The usual smell of beer and cigarettes wasn’t filling his nose when he dug his face deeper into the pillows, but instead the scent of lavender was surrounding him, making Kenny even more determined to stay in bed until he died.

Kenny was just about to fall back into a deep sleep, but stopped himself once he felt the bed sinking, as if someone had sat down at the edge.

Slowly, because he knew better than to make quick movements while under a hangover, Kenny lifted his head and opened his eyes to look up at the person sitting at the foot of the bed. Kenny’s eyes landed on Kyle, who was sitting on the bed and scrolling through his phone. Kyle was wearing only a pair of boxers and a loose wife beater and his red curly hair was unbrushed and sticking out all over the place. Kenny noticed he was in Kyle’s room.

Kyle felt Kenny’s movements and took his eyes off the screen to lock them with Kenny’s. “Morning, Sleepy Beauty.”

Kenny could feel the blood drain from his face as he stared wide eyed at Kyle. “Shit,” he muttered. He wiped his hand against his face, while trying to ignore the headache that he had almost forgotten was there. “Did we fuck last night?”

Kyle’s laugh was just a tad too loud for Kenny’s sensitive ears right now, but he appreciated the wave of relief that washed over him when he saw the grin on Kyle’s face. “Gross, dude.”

Kenny groaned as he tried sitting up. It looked like it was still dark outside, but Kyle was already out of bed and wide awake. After finishing typing out what was most likely a text, Kyle got up from the bed and made his way around the room as he began getting dressed for the day.

“What time is it?” Kenny asked as he watched Kyle go back and forth in the room.

“6 in the morning. You wanna borrow some clothes for school or are you planning on just sleeping in?”

“I don’t even want to be alive right now,” Kenny grumbled.

“Fair enough. You drank a lot more than usual last night. At least, I assume you did. You were already drunk when you came over.”

Kenny groaned again. “What happened?”

Kyle shrugged his shoulders. He was already dressed by this point and was just gathering his books and supplies for school. “You snuck in my room in the middle of the night drunk, and I’m sure a little high too. You were trying to convince me to run away with you to San Francisco. Sorry, I lived their before and I’m not planning on going back anytime soon. Or ever. But I appreciate you asking me out of the other guys. You really do know how to make a guy feel special.”

Kenny slumped back into the sheets and let out a third groan. “What other dumb shit did I say?”

“Nothing aside from running away. I brought you a cup of green tea to help you sober up, you spilled it all over my bed, I changed the sheets, you called me a bastard for not wanting to run away with you, and you feel asleep. Wanna talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

First the first time since he got up from the bed, Kyle looked over to make eye contact with Kenny. “The last and only time you climbed into my window drunk was after the visit from social services and you were terrified they were going to take Karen away.”

Kenny remembered that night. There was a period when Karen had gone to school with bruises all over her arms and hands, and Kenny had the feared that her teacher was going to call Social Services on his family under suspicion of child abuse. The reality was that Karen had just been roughhousing with the other neighborhood kids and just so happened to have sensitive skin. Kenny tried his hardest to keep the bruises covered up, but the fear was still in the back of his mind every morning when Karen went off to school.

Kenny’s fear came true when they received a letter in the mail a few weeks later about a future visit from a social worker. Kenny did all that he could to prepare for the visit, fixing up the house to make it look decently livable, tossing out all the cans of beer and bags of weed his parents had hiding around the house, and even buying his parents proper clothing that didn’t have stains and holes so they could look decent for once. Everything seemed to go smoothly when the social worker finally came and Kenny was actually proud for once at how his parents behaved. That was, until Stuart’s drug dealer came barging in unannounced and began demanding for Stuart to pay up the money that he owed them.

The night ended with a fight in the living room, the social worker barging out while claiming she was going to come back, and Kenny punching his dad in the face for ruining their chances.

“I’m just lucky that the next time that social bitch visited went smoothly, or I’d probably would be stuck in some foster house right now,” Kenny mumbled.

“I’m lucky for that too,” Kyle commented. Kyle wasn’t stupid. He knew Kenny wasn’t scared about being in a foster home. He was scared of being separated from his baby sister. “You don’t have to talk about if you don’t want to.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Fair enough,” Kyle said. He finished packing up his school bag and flung it over his shoulder. “You can stay here until you sober up. Mind you, my mom is off today so she’ll be hanging around the house. I suggest you don’t let her see you. She’s still pissed about the fact that you let Ike borrow that playboy magazine.”

Kenny wasn’t planning on moving from the bed anytime soon, so it didn’t matter to him either way. He just wanted to stay in bed and forgot about what happened last night. Forget about getting drunk. Forget about coming to Kyle’s room. Forget about Butters. “Your mom loves me.”

“True,” Kyle said, “Doesn’t mean she’s not pissed that you tried to taint her precious son.”

Kenny cracked a smile. Kyle’s mom might be a bitch, but Kenny had a weak spot in his heart for her. She was one of the only parent who treated Kenny like her own. “You want to do something later? With the gang?” Kenny asked. He needed some time with just the guys. A carefree night where they just crack jokes on each other and play videos games. He noticed the way Kyle frowned at the suggestion.

“You know I’m not talking to Stan.”

Kenny honestly forgot. “Still?”

“He gave me a black eye.”

Kenny didn’t say anything. He went back to laying on his side and threw the covers over himself. “It’s not like you’re innocent either. What you said was a little uncalled for, don’tcha think?”

“I don’t think that,” Kyle muttered. “Besides, I have a student council meeting after school and then something planned after that.”

“Whatever. I’m sleeping. Goodnight.”

“It’s 6 in the morning, but yeah, goodnight to you too.”

Kenny waited until he heard the sound of Kyle’s bedroom door closing before he turned onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. His head was still pounding and his throat was still dry, but his mind was only stuck on what had happened the night before. So much for trying to forget it, he thought bitterly.

Yeah, he and Butters have gotten into arguments before. They’ve known each other for years, of course they’d fight at some point. It usually didn’t last long and it was always about something stupid and petty. Kenny always jokingly thought of them as lover quarrels, even if they weren’t in an actual relationship. And the two of them would forgive and forget by the next day.

But last night was the first time Kenny had seen Butters so angry towards him. He knew he had fucked up before Butters came over, but he didn’t think he fucked up that badly.

He could clearly remember Butters angry expression. The accusing finger pointing towards him. The last words he said before storming out the room.

“I know what I want, but I’m not waiting for you anymore, Ken.”

Shit. Kenny really fucked up.

* * *

 

Craig sometimes wondered why he was friends with Clyde. The two were complete opposites in almost every possible way, and he’s pretty sure the only thing they really had in common was their strong hatred towards Eric Cartman. But even that didn’t mean anything. Everyone hates Cartman.

“But dude, you promise!”

It was a surprise that Craig hadn’t punched the living crap out of Clyde yet. And Token and Jimmy were being no help either as they just stood on the side and watched as Clyde clung himself onto Craig’s arm.

“I don’t remember ever promising,” Craig spat. He tried pulling his arm away but that just made Clyde tighten his grip. He could see people give them looks as they passed them by in the hall, but Craig paid them no mind. He just wanted Clyde to get the fuck off of him.

“But you did!” Clyde practically cried, “You said the day the trailer drop that we’d play it once it released. The game is getting released tonight! We have to play it!”

“I told you, I have something planned.” Clyde glared over at the two boys watching the whole scene go down with silly grins on their faces. “Don’t make me wipe that smirk off of you two.”

“What smirk?” Token asked, completely aware of the smile that he was shooting towards Craig.

“We’re not sm-sm-smirking,” Jimmy added.

Craig was ready to flip them off, but he still needed to free himself from Clyde’s grip. “Why can’t you guys just play with him?” He asked.

“Can’t,” Token said, “Dad’s boss is coming over for dinner.”

“And I have a stand up gig at W-Whu-Whistlin’ W-Wi-Willy’s for a kid’s birthday party.”

Craig really did flip them off this time. He couldn’t remember ever agreeing that he’d play this new stupid game with Clyde on the day of its release. Craig, for one, wasn’t even a fan of zombie games. He never found anything zombie related good or interesting. They were more of Tweek’s thing.

“Dude,” Craig said as he finally managed to wiggle his arm free from Clyde and began his way down the hall. The guys didn’t skip a beat to follow after him. “I really have something planned tonight. I can’t cancel at last minute.”

“But you promised!”

“I didn’t promise anything,” Craig snapped. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath to compose himself again. “Look, we can’t do it tonight. But I’ll come over tomorrow in the morning and we can play then.”

Clyde shot him a suspicious look, clearly not believing in what Craig had just told him. “And you won’t flake out on me again?”

“Yeah, whatever. Just as long as you don’t grab me like that ever again. You’re like some unwanted clingy girlfriend when you do that.” Craig wasn’t thrilled of the idea that he was going to have to force himself out of bed on a Saturday morning, but at least he’ll have Clyde off his back for now.

“Dude, this is going to be awesome!” Clyde proclaimed, completely ignoring Craig’s insult. “Token, Jimmy, you guys don’t have anything to do tomorrow so you guys can come over too. We haven’t had a guys hangout in forever!”

“Well, we’ve had it. Just not with Craig,” Token corrected.

Craig ignored the hidden meaning behind that comment and kept his head forward as he continue to make his way down the hall, the guys tagging along behind him. He knew Token was trying to hint at the fact that Craig hadn’t been hanging around with them as much anymore since his break up with Tweek. And as true as it was, Craig wasn’t in the mood to deal with the comment right now.

From the end of the hall he saw a familiar blond hair, and a calm warmth quickly spread its way through Craig’s chest.

Tweek was standing alongside Stan Marsh and Gary Harrison, one hand tugging on his shirt and the other tugging at his hair. Stan seemed to be ranting about something because he was talking without a single break and his hands making large exaggerated motions as he spoke. Gary was happily nodding along, but Tweek seemed to look as though he wasn’t understanding anything Stan was saying and it was starting to freak him out.

Craig watched as Tweek opened his mouth a few times, as if trying to say something, but closed it just as fast because Stan wasn’t shutting up. Stan was clearly pissed about something.

Tweek eyes shifted to the side and Craig’s felt his face heat up when the two made eye contact. They still haven’t spoken to each other in public since the break up, let alone even acknowledge each other’s existence. It still hurt every time Tweek walked past Craig in the halls without even sparing him a glance. So Craig was all prepare for Tweek to look away and pretend that nothing had happened.

What he wasn’t prepared for was to see Tweek flash him a shy smile and small wave of his hand. The action caught Stan’s and Gary’s attention, and they looked over towards Craig and the guys. Stan shot Craig a dirty look before going back to his rant, but Craig ignored the look and kept his focus on Tweek.

Tweek was still watching him and Craig realized at that moment that he was frozen in place and was staring back. Clyde and the guys were already a few steps ahead, completely unaware that Craig was left behind. Craig slowly lifted his hand up and gave a small wave back towards Tweek, and the shy smile on Tweek’s face grew slightly wider before he turned his attention back on Stan.

Craig could feel a smile spread on his own face as he watched Tweek trailed behind Stan and Gary down the hall and eventually out of sight.

For the first time since their breakup, Tweek had finally acknowledged Craig in public. For the first time in almost three months, Tweek had actually smiled at Craig while not being behind closed doors. Granted, there was not really anybody around to see it, but just the fact that Tweek smiled and waved at him made Craig feel all giddy inside.

“Craig, you feeling okay?”

The guys had stopped their tracks once they noticed that Craig had stayed behind. They were sending him concern looks, but Craig didn’t give a damn right now. All he could think about was that cute smile.

Craig slowly put his hand back down to his side and didn’t bother to get rid of the smile on his face. “Yeah. Couldn’t be better.”

* * *

 

It was an understatement to say that Craig had never been on a real date before. Sure, he’s taken Tweek out to places plenty of times while they were still together, but his relationship with Tweek was so played out that even if Craig took Tweek to the town’s dump, everyone would still think of it as the cutest thing ever. So he had no idea on what was considered appropriate to wear for this date. He knew for a special occasion, like a date, would involve having to dress nicely, but Craig could care less about how he looked. Especially when that date is with Kyle Broflovski.

But Craig did promise to treat this as a real date, and not the petty date that it actually was. Craig didn't really have anything in his closet that was considered “dressy”. His wardrobe consists mainly of casual jeans and solid color t-shirts and sweaters. The only thing he had that was decent enough was a navy button down shirt, which he only wears once in a blue moon, mainly whenever his aunt comes over to visit. He’s had it for years now, to the point that the color had faded out and one of the button was a bit loose and at the verge of popping out. But he figured this was gonna be the best he could get. Kyle was coming any minute now and he wasn’t going to stretch the night to be any longer than it needed to be by worrying over what to wear.

Throwing on his navy shirt and one of his good pair of black jeans, Craig decided he should also bring his usual blue sweater, just in case it was chilly outside. Living in the cold town of South Park has helped him become accustomed to the freezing temperatures, which is why Craig never bothered with wearing jackets anymore. A simple sweater and hat was enough to keep him warm. He dug through his closet and around his room, but he couldn’t find his sweater anywhere.

“Have you seen my sweater?” Craig asked after making his way downstairs and into the kitchen, where his mother was cooking dinner.

“Which one, hun?” She asked. She moved around the kitchen without sparing a glance towards her son, her attention completely engross with whatever dish she was making for the family.

“My blue one. I checked my room and upstairs. I couldn’t find it.”

“Did you check in the-“ Her words were cut off when she finally turned to look at her son and paused. She eyed the shirt Craig was wearing, as well as the rest of his dressed up appearance and cocked her head to the side. “Is your aunt coming over?” She asked.

“No,” Craig said, slightly annoyed at her reaction. Was it really that weird for him be actually look decent for once? Okay, yeah it was.

“So then why are you wearing that shirt? You never wear that shirt.”

“I’m going out,” Craig responded a little harshly. He immediately felt bad for snapping at his mother, and made to sure to go back to his calm, monotone voice. “I have plans tonight. But I need my sweater.”

His mother continued to eye her son, and as much as it irked Craig, he kept his mouth shut and let her eyes wander over him. “Are you going out with Tweek tonight?”

The question completely caught Craig off guard, and he couldn’t help the way his face heat up. “W-what do you mean?”

“It’s just,” his mom started off slowly, “You only ever dressed up like that whenever your aunt comes over. Or when you went out with Tweek. So I was just curious.”

Craig was left speechless for a moment. His face was no doubt red and the thoughts in his mind couldn’t stop jumbling around. He had worn this shirt a few times when he went over to eat with Tweek’s family in the past. “I’m not… we broke up, mom.” He could hear his voice sounding smaller than before.

“I know that,” his mom said. She sighed and turned back around to put her attention back on making dinner. “You really haven’t spoken about it. It was so sudden, the break up I mean. I guess I’m just concerned.”

“Yeah, well,” Craig mumbled. He wasn’t sure how the conversation quickly turned on to this topic. A topic he was trying to avoid for three months now. He didn’t like thinking about it, and he especially didn’t like talking about it. “It is what it is.”

She glanced at him and, to Craig’s surprise, she smiled. “Things happen for a reason, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” Craig mumbled. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, most likely a message from Kyle notifying that he was outside and ready to pick him up. “I’ll.. I’ll grab another sweater. See you later, mom.”

He jogged upstairs and grabbed the first sweater he could find throw on his messy bed, and made his way back downstairs and out the door before he got into another uncomfortable conversation with his mother.

If there was one thing Craig couldn’t deny, it was that his mother was practically heads over heels in love with for Tweek. Not romantically, of corse. But the soft spot she had for the blonde teen was honestly ridiculous. She treated him like the son she claimed she never had, and would usually ignore Craig whenever he was around. Craig really didn’t care though. He had a feeling that Tweek craved the undivided attention his mother would give him whenever he came over. Probably to make up of the lack of attention his own parents would give him.

Still, Craig clearly remembered the silent reaction his mother gave when he announced his break up at the family table. His father was silent as well, but for another reason.

It wasn’t as chilly outside as Craig had expected, but he was still glad he brought his sweater anyways. Kyle was outside, leaning on his car, as he mindlessly scrolled through his phone while waiting for Craig. One look and Craig instantly realized he was overdressed. Kyle was simply wearing the same clothes he had at school today. The kid didn’t even bother to go home and change.

Kyle looked up when he heard the front door closing, and he let out a whistle as he eyed Craig. “I guess I didn’t get the dress code memo.” There was a silly grin on his face that iterated Craig.

Craig shrugged as he walked towards the car. “I figured if I was going to waste my time going on this date I might as well put some effort into it.”

“Sorry. I would’ve changed into something nicer but I had a meeting after school and I came straight here afterwards. Didn’t have time to go home.”

“It’s fine,” Craig said. “We’re just going to McDonalds anyways.”

Kyle cracked a smile and the two got into his hybrid car. Kyle had tried to make the attempt to hold the car door for Craig, but he immediately backed off when he noticed the glaring look Craig had shot him.

“Um. About McDonald's..” Kyle mumbled once he got into the driver seat. “You sure you don’t want to go anywhere else? We can go to Denny’s. Or even City Wok. I heard it’s not as shitty as it used to be.”

“We established McDonald’s,” Craig said firmly.

“Uh, yeah. Okay.”

The car ride was quite, as Craig had expected. It wasn’t a lie when Craig claimed that he and Kyle had nothing in common. Because they clearly didn’t. They didn’t have the same circle of friends, didn’t take the same classes, or even stood in the same social status. Kyle was a member of the student council, has a high chance to be their class valedictorian, volunteers at the local synagogue, and occasionally tutors middle schoolers on the weekends. Craig, on the other hand, hangs out with the Goth kids and buys cigarettes off of Damien on a regular basis.

Kyle was well liked, Craig not so much.

“Do you want to turn on the radio?” Kyle asked after a few minutes of silent driving. “You can pick whatever channel you want.”

Craig was going to reject the offer, but eventually figured that music was better than the unbearable silence that hung between them. “What channel do you usually listen to?”

“It should already be on the channel. But you can pick what you want.”

“I really don’t care,” Craig mumbled. He turned on the radio, and a crappy pop song quickly filled the air around them. It wasn’t something Craig would normally listen to, but he didn’t mind it either. It was better than silence.

Craig noticed the way Kyle would occasionally glance at the radio, as if he was expecting Craig to change it. He ignored it the first few times, but it soon got on his nerves.

“What?” Craig eventually asked.

“Nothing,” Kyle said, but his eyes still continued to glance down. “I’m just..Are you sure you don’t want to change it?”

Craig raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to change it?”

“No, I don’t mind this song. I just…” Kyle bit his bottom and forced his eyes back on the road. “Never mind. I’m sorry.”

“If you don’t want me to change it I won’t change it. It’s that simple.”

Kyle didn’t respond until a minute later. “Yeah, it should be that simple.”

The rest of the ride was silent once again, only this time with crappy pop music playing in the background. Craig kept his eyes focused on the window to his right, while Kyle kept concentrated on the road ahead of them. They made it to the McDonald’s just in time before Craig snapped at the awkward tension that filled the air. Honestly, if Kyle was really so desperate for this date with him, he could at least have some effort to keep a conversation going. Then again, was Craig even in the mood to have a conversation with Kyle. Most of Kyle’s conversations with anyone will end up in arguments.

The two didn’t even exchange a word as they exited the parked car and entered the building. Lucky for Craig, but a little surprising at the same time, the McDonald’s was nearly empty. It was a Friday night and this placed was usually full on Friday nights. A lot of the middle schoolers like to hang out around here on most weekends. The only other people were a few senior citizen couples sitting in the back of the restaurant, so Craig purposely choose a table towards the front and away from them, while Kyle simply trailed behind him.

“Wow,” Kyle said as he stood by their table and scanned the almost empty room. “Wonder what’s going on in town that’s keeping people from coming here.” He glanced down at Craig and frowned. “You’re not going to order?”

“I already know what I want,” Craig said. “A number 3 meal. Coke.” Kyle might as well do the honor of ordering for them. Craig used to always have to order whenever he and Tweek went out anywhere. Of course Craig didn’t mind, but that was mainly because Tweek would always get the same thing Craig got, so it was easy for him to remember the order.

Kyle nodded his head, mentally taking note of Craig’s order. He continued to stand by the table as glanced over to the ordering counter. “You sure that’s what you want?”

Craig frowned. “Yeah.”

“You don’t want to look at the menu? Maybe there’s something else that you want?”

“Is there something wrong with my order?” Why was Kyle questioning what Craig wanted.

“No!” Kyle quickly said, “I’ll go order.” He hesitated for a moment, but he eventually went over to make their orders.

Craig narrowed his eyes as he watch Kyle talk to the woman at the counter. He was able to tell her Craig’s order without a problem, but seemed to have an issue on what he wanted for himself. It took Kyle a while to finally decide, and within a couple of minutes was back at the table with their trays of food.

“Chicken nuggets?” Craig questioned when he saw the box on Kyle’s tray once he set them down. All that time and he decides to go with chicken nuggets?

“You can’t go wrong with chicken nuggets,” Kyle said with a grin.

They ate in silence for the first couple of minutes. Craig wasn’t the type to talk while eating, and Kyle seemed to be the same way. That, or he just didn’t know what to talk about. This was completely different from when Craig used go out to eat with Tweek. Tweek knew how to ramble and would always rant about whatever was on his mind, usually about a new conspiracy theory he read online. It was nice because Craig could eat his meal and not have to worry about having to keep a conversation going. Plus, he always enjoyed listening to Tweek.

“I notice you’re still skipping class.” Kyle said. He picked up a fry and dipped it in some ketchup. “It’s been a few weeks since the last time you’ve attended English. Aren’t you afraid that you’re going to fail?”

Craig should be afraid, seeing that it was his last year of high school and he should be focusing on keeping his grades up if he wanted to graduate on time with the rest of his class. Which Craig honestly did want to do. He might not have any care for school, but he didn’t want to be forced to repeat another year either. But Craig had a secret weapon up his sleeve that kept him from worrying about failing any of his classes. Let’s just say that Dougie O’Connell is a wiz at hacking into any system and is able to change Craig’s grades with a press of a button. And he also just so happens to owe Craig a huge favor for giving him Ruby’s phone number a few months back (without her consent, of course).

“I know what I’m doing,” is all Craig responded with.

That seemed like a good enough answer however, because Kyle went on to just talk about what has happened in their shared English class since Craig stopped attending. Which was fine with Craig since it gave him the opportunity to eat in silence as Kyle rambled on about the new book they were assigned to be reading. Craig couldn’t remember the last time he even opened a book for that class, let alone a book in general.

There would be moments when Kyle would pause and the two would eat in silence for a while before he’d get into another topic. Most of the subjects were things could honestly care less about; what’s going on within the student council, the fact that Ike made all honors last semester, and the stupid shit that Cartman would say on a daily basis. This went on for a while, and Craig was able to finish his burger without having to really put any of his two cents into the conversation.

That was, until Kyle asked something that caught him completely off guard. “This might not be my place to ask, but I’ve been curious for a while now. Why did you and Tweek break up?”

Craig tried not to scowl. “That’s none of your business.”

“I know it’s not,” Kyle said with a sigh. “It’s just, Tweek hasn’t really mentioned anything about it either. I found it a little strange. He just came up to our table at lunch and sat down and started eating his food. When we asked him why he wasn’t with you and your gang, he just said that he couldn’t be around you. I thought that maybe you guys got into a fight or something. It’s happened before. We didn’t know it meant because you guys broke up until later that day when Butters told us.”

Craig felt a nerve strike him. He had spent the first month of their break up constantly having people come up to him and ask why the two split up. Craig always responded with “it’s none of your business”. But apparently people were that noisy because despite his rude response, people continued to ask anyways. Eventually Craig just settled with telling people that it was just their time to move on.

“We decided it was time,” Craig muttered, “I don’t know.”

Kyle was quiet for a moment before he asked his next question. “Weren’t you scared?”

Craig stared at Kyle for a moment, not exactly understanding the question. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Kyle began, “Weren't you scared about things changing? You and Tweek were together for years. You two became a big part of each other lives. And then you guys just ended it. Just like that. Weren’t you terrified of losing something you became so accustomed to? Of that change that was going to happen by letting him go? The person who you’ve known for so long was no longer going to play a role in your life. Didn’t that scare you?”

It took a while for the words to register in Craig’s mind. He contemplated on how to answer the question, or whether he should even answer it in the first place . He wasn’t friends with Kyle. He didn’t need to into depth about his relationship with Tweek and his feelings about the break up. He didn’t need to explain anything to anyone.

But this was the first time someone ever asked him how he felt after losing Tweek.

“I guess I didn’t think breaking up with him was going to mean losing him,” Craig found himself saying. He didn’t want to say more. He wanted to end it at that and act like this conversation never happened. But sometimes things don’t go the way you want. “I guess I thought we’d still be friends. I thought I’d still be able to talk and hang out with him. I didn’t know ending our relationship was going to end everything else we had together, including our friendship.”

Kyle sat there and just stared at Craig. So Craig continued.

“So I don’t think I was scared of losing him, because I didn’t think I was going to. But it did. And it’s sucks because Tweek was more than just a boyfriend to me. He knew and understood things about me that other people didn’t. He was my best friend. But we decided it was time to move on, I guess. Everything happens for a reason.” Just like his mom said.

Sure, they talk on the phone. They hang out in private. But it’s not the same. Having to hide and pretend that they don’t mean anything to each other still hurts Craig. It’s painful to see Tweek walking around the hall and have him act as if Craig never existed to him.

Craig was in love with Tweek. Still is. And he wants to get back together with him. But more than anything, he just wants him back in his life. As just friends, or more than that, it didn’t matter. He just wanted Tweek back.

“I know how you feel.”

Craig stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “How could you possibly know how I feel?” As far as he knew, Kyle had never been in a serious relationship before. He’s dated here and there, but it wasn’t anything that ever lasted more than a week.

“I just do.”

The two decided to end that conversation right then and there.

Craig wanted to kill himself. He should have just been vague and end the conversation before he said too much. But the words flew out from him before he could even realize what he was saying. Craig hadn’t told anyone about his true feelings about his break up with Tweek. He’s been holding everything in since day one, and his mind couldn’t handle it anymore.

People had asked if he was okay after the break up, and Craig would always respond that he was fine. That everything was fine. But anyone with eyes could clearly see that Craig was not fine. The bags under his eyes, the loss of appetite, and the lack of motivation in almost everything was enough signs to show that Craig was absolutely not fine. But everyone accepted his answer without further questioning, and as much as Craig was grateful that no one pressured him into talking about how he really felt, he wasn’t happy about pretending he fine either.

Everyone had asked him if he was okay. But Kyle was the first to ask him how he felt about the situation.

Craig really wanted to end this night.

Kyle had already finished up his fries and was moving onto his nuggets. That’s when Craig noticed the unopened sauce packets sitting on Kyle’s tray.

“You’re not going to use your sauce?” Craig asked as he watched Kyle plop a practically naked nugget into his mouth.

Kyle eyed the sauce on his tray and shook his head. “I don’t eat my nuggets with sauce. The lady at the front asked if I wanted some and I kinda just said yes out of reflex.”

Craig eyed the sauce once more. “Can I have it then?” Craig still had his fries left to eat, and he was a big fan of dipping them in the barbecue sauce McDonald’s off rather than ketchup. Jimmy had introduced it to him back in elementary school and Craig had been hooked on it ever since. Tweek thought it was weird and would always judge Craig whenever he did it.

“Sure,” Kyle said, a little confused as to why Craig would want the sauce. But he immediately understood once he saw Craig dip his fry into it with a satisfied smile.

“Is barbecue sauce okay?” Kyle asked, “You want me to ask for Sweet N’ Sour sauce instead?”

Craig simply shook his head and continued with eating his fries. He could feel Kyle’s eyes on him, but he kept his own eyes on his food and hoped that Kyle would eventually look away. He didn’t.

“I can go ask, you know,” Kyle went on, “If you want the other sauce instead.”

“I’m fine with this,” Craig muttered. He could feel his irritation building up, but he tried to keep his cool. The night had been going smoothly so far and he didn’t want to mess anything due to his own short temper. They were already more than halfway done with the date, and Craig wasn’t going to let it last any longer than it had to by getting into an argument.

“Are you sure?”

Too bad Craig didn’t care about his short temper. Craig didn’t want to, but he couldn’t take it anymore. He snapped.

“Okay,” Craig said sternly as he dropped the fry he had picked and stared directly at Kyle with a glare, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Kyle blinked and furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

This time Craig didn’t even bother to try to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “Since the moment you picked me up, all you’ve done was question everything I do. From the radio to my order, and now even what kind of sauce I want,” Craig said, “Why are you second guessing everything I say? What, do you think I can’t make decisions on my own or something?”

Kyle shook his head. “That’s not it. It’s just… I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I offended you.” He did look genuinely apologetic, and Craig really wanted to wipe that look off Kyle’s face.

“Whatever,” Craig grumbled, knowing that there was no point in continuing the conversation, “Let's just finish eating so we can leave.”

Kyle nodded his head and went back to finishing up his fries.

* * *

 

The rest of the date went by in silence. Kyle seemed like he did not want to say anything in fear of offending Craig again, and Craig didn’t want to talk in general. After finishing their food, the two headed back to Kyle’s car, a big gap of distance between them. Craig was ready to go home, take a nice long shower, and hopefully call Tweek. If he wasn’t able to hang out with him today, he can at least talk with him on the phone for a couple of hours.

“Look,” Kyle said once the two were buckled up in his car. “I’m really sorry for questioning you so much tonight. I didn’t mean to come off as if I didn’t trust your judgement or anything.”

Craig remained quiet, so Kyle continued with his apology. “I have this… person I know, who always has the tendency to change his mind. A lot. One second he wants burgers, the next he wants pizza. He’s hot and then suddenly it’s too cold for him. He’s always saying one thing and then meaning something else, and it’s so frustrating. But I’m so used to it, so I guess I was expecting the same you to be the same. Which was wrong of me.”

“I’m not this other guy. When I say I want something, it’s because I want it.”

“I know,” Kyle said with a sigh, “I’m just not used to it. I’m sorry.”

Craig sighed. “It’s whatever.” He just wants to go home.

Kyle shot him a sheepish smile before starting the car and turning on the engine. They drove out of the parking lot and began heading towards Craig’s house.

“This date really didn’t turn out the way I hoped,” Kyle said with a nervous chuckle. “I don’t even think this can be called a date. It was barely a hangout.”

“For once I agree with you,” Craig mumbled. Then he shrugged his shoulders. “It could have been worse though.”

“Yeah?” Kyle asked, “Like how?”

“You could have been out with Eric Cartman instead of me.”

Kyle let out a laugh and sent a wide smile towards Craig’s direction. “I’d rather kill myself then ever go on a date with Cartman.”

“I said the same thing about you. Yet here I am.”

Kyle laughed again, and Craig could feel the tense atmosphere from earlier before begin to lighten a bit. Kyle turned on the radio and once again the sound of a shitty pop music filled the air.

The ride was no longer as uncomfortable as before, and Craig was just glad the music was playing to keep them from forcing a conversation.

“Hey, do you mind if we take a detour?”

Craig raised an eyebrow while he took a glance towards Kyle. He really wanted just to go home. But maybe it was the fact that Craig had been a little too aggressive earlier, or that this whole date was a complete fail, that Craig felt a little bad for wanting to rush everything and get it all done with. He did say he was going to try to make this date worth his while, so maybe a quick stop somewhere won’t be too bad. “As long as it’s quick.”

Kyle flashed him a smile and made a sharp sudden right turn. Craig almost slammed into the side of the car, but managed to hold himself before any collision could happen. “Dude, warn me next time.”

Kyle’s smile didn’t leave his face.

Craig didn’t bother to ask where they were going. South Park was small enough that he could probably mostly likely figure it out on his own just by the streets they took.

However, the longer they drove the more he began to realize something. They were heading towards the opposite side of town. It wasn’t until Kyle drove past the Bijou Theater that Craig began to mentally panic. There was only two other things left on this street, the closed down storage facility at the end of town, and Tweek Bros Coffee shop.

Craig mentally prayed that they weren’t heading to where he thought they were, but all his hopes were crushed when he saw the way-too-familiar building and Kyle turned into the coffee shop’s parking lot.

Kyle parked in the first opening he saw, and began to unbuckle his belt when he noticed that Craig was frozen still.

“Dude,” he asked, “Are you okay?”

Craig’s eyes were glued to the building in front of him. He could hear his heart practically pounding out of his chest. Out of all the places that sold coffee, why in God’s name did Kyle come here? Why did he come to the coffee shop that Tweek’s parents owned? Why couldn’t they go to Harbucks? It was a lot closer to Craig’s house, and there’s no chance Tweek would be there.

“Craig?”

“What the hell wrong with you?” Craig snapped once he got some sense back into him, “Why did you bring me here?”

Kyle glanced at the building with confusion. “What’s wrong with here?”

“What’s wrong with here?” Craig asked in disbelief, “This is my ex’s parent’s place! How are you going to bring me to my ex’s parent’s shop?”

“I didn’t-,” Kyle said slowly, “I still have a shitload of homework to do. My mom doesn’t approve of coffee, but I need something to keep me awake so I finish everything. I always come here to get my coffee.”

Craig felt himself sinking into his seat. “Dude, I can't be here.”

“I’m just going to get a quick coffee. It won’t take long.”

Craig shook his head. He could feel his palms getting sweaty and he desperately tried to wipe them on his jeans. “Just hurry up.”

“You’re not going to come inside?”

“Are you insane?” Craig asked, “I can’t go inside. What if Tweek is in there?” Craig didn’t care about seeing Tweek. But he did care about Tweek seeing Craig. Tweek made it clear that they couldn’t be around each other in public, and Craig knew it also meant not being allowed to go Tweeks Bros.

Plus, what would Tweek think if he saw Craig out with Kyle. Tweek knows how much Craig dislike Kyle. So for Craig to be hanging out with him, he’ll know something is up.

“I’m not going to let you stay in the car. I’ll buy you something,” Kyle said. He quickly glanced at the radio clock. “Come on, let’s go.”

“I’m not going in there,” Craig fought, “Just get your shitty coffee somewhere else.”

“But this is only place that makes it the way I like.”

Craig could kill Kyle right now. How could this kid be this stubborn over a cup of coffee? Tweek Bro’s didn’t even make good coffee to begin with.

“I’m not going in,” Craig said sternly.

Kyle glanced at the clock again. “Come on, it’s not going to kill you to go in.” His eyes scanned the almost empty parking lot. “Look, his parents car isn’t even here. Which probably means that they have one of their employees watching the store tonight. Which most likely means that Tweek isn’t here either. He’s never here unless his parents are.”

That was true. Tweek wasn’t allowed to be at the shop alone, mainly because he wasn’t able to look after the place without becoming an anxious mess from the pressure of running things on his own. The Tweaks learned that the hard way when Mr. Tweak had Tweek watch the store while he went down the street to the bank. He was only gone for 10 ministers, but he came back to a broken espresso machine, all their cups missing, and a line of unhappy customers.

“I’m not risking it.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and glanced at the clock one more time. “We’ll be in and out. We’ll get my drink, you can order something for yourself, and then we’ll leave.”

Craig wanted to put his foot down and curse Kyle out. But he knew keeping his argument up was getting them nowhere, and Craig really needed to get the fuck out of there. “Fuck. Fine. In and out.”

The shop was completely empty, to no one’s surprise. The only person was the employee behind the counter, who was most likely the person watching over the store tonight. There was no signs of the Tweaks anywhere, which guaranteed that Tweek wasn’t around either. But Craig wasn’t going to put his guard down so easily.

“Order your fucking coffee so we can get out of here.”

Kyle went up to the countered and placed his order. Craig stood not too far from him and watched as the barista wrote down Kyle’s order on a cup and went to start on the drink.

“You want anything? My treat.”

Craig wanted to deny. He was never a fan of coffee and so never really drank it. Tweek used to get him to try different things all the times, from macchiatos to frappuccinos, to things that weren’t even on the menu, but nothing ever suited Craig’s taste buds enough for him to want to drink it again. “It's fine. I don’t want anything.”

Too bad Kyle was a stubborn bastard who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Come on. The least I can do is buy you a drink.”

Craig didn’t even have the chance to argue. His wrist was suddenly in Kyle’s grip, and before he knew it, Craig was being pulled by Kyle’s side. Kyle threw an arm around Craig, locking Craig in place and giving him no chance to escape. “Go ahead,” Kyle said with an annoying grin, “Pick whatever you want.”

Did Kyle not understand what no meant? Apparently not if Kyle, not only dragged Craig into the coffee shop after showing how much his was against it, but is now also forcing him to order something off the menu even after Craig said I didn’t want anything.

But if ordering something meant getting out of here faster, Craig honestly had no choice. “Passion Tango Tea.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow at the order. “Didn’t take you for a tea guy.”

“I’m not a big fan of coffee.” Tweek was the coffee drinker. And not even because he particularly liked the bitter taste of the drink, but because it was something he grew accustomed to after being forced to drink the many different blends his parents tried experimenting with to add to their menu. Craig had tried sampling a few times himself, but the drink was either always too bitter or too bland. But he was able to drink down the teas with no problem.

Kyle ordered Craig’s drink and the two lingered at the counter as they waited for their orders. But to much of Craig’s irritation, Kyle kept his arm around Craig’s shoulder, as if he was trying to make sure Craig wouldn’t escape at the last minute. Which wasn’t Craig’s intention, but it would be a lie if he said he didn’t think about sneaking away while Kyle wasn’t looking.

“This place is the only place that makes my drink exactly the way I want it. I’ve tried going to other places but it’s never the same,” Kyle said. He watched as the employee behind the counter worked on their drinks. “I used to come here all the time. But I stopped. Now I only come when I need to stay up to finish whatever work I have waiting for me at home. My mom doesn’t believe in drinking coffee as a form of keeping yourself awake. She thinks of it as a drug. So she’ll kill me if she finds out that I come here.”

Craig honestly believed Kyle. Kyle’s mom was enough of a bitch to ban something as simple as coffee from her children if she felt it was a harm to them. Tweek’s parents were the complete opposite. They encourage Tweek to drink as much as he could. No wonder Tweek could never sleep. Why he has so much problems with his head.

Kyle continued to ramble on about how his mother was strict on other things, such as video games and television, and Craig was too much in thought about how he wanted to get the hell out of here, that he didn’t hear the front door open. It wasn’t until the employee turned around and greeted whoever came in with a welcome and a bright smile, that Craig felt his body freeze.

Craig didn’t want to turn around. He had a feeling he knew who it was and knowing his luck, he’ll be right. He knew he shouldn’t have come here. He knew he should have just stayed in the car. Or maybe he should have just gotten out and walked home. Get away from here before anyone got a chance to see him. Maybe not even agree to this date at all.

But then Craig felt the arm around his shoulder tense up. Kyle, much like himself, was in a frozen state and it seemed like he was avoiding to look behind him as well.

Then there was some chuckling.

Chuckling that Craig didn’t recognize, but Kyle clearly did, judging in the way his body tensed up even more. Kyle’s grip around Craig tightened and he tried to pull Craig closer to him. Craig was about to pull himself away, when he saw Stan walk past them and headed straight to the counter. A couple of guys that Craig recognized as being a part of the football team followed behind Stan. They sent a look towards Craig’s and Kyle’s direction, before chuckling to themselves again and looking away.

“Passion Tea Tango and Valencia Creme Frappuccino.”

It took a while to process that their drinks were ready, and Kyle removed his arm from Craig, but not after grabbing his wrist immediately after and dragging him over to pick up section of the counter. While Kyle reached over to grab their drinks, Craig glanced over to where Stan was standing, alongside the other two guys (which Craig now recognized as Bill Allen and Fosse McDonald).

Stan was staring back towards Craig’s direction with a hard look that he clearly wasn’t trying to hide. Craig stared back at him with the same look.

“Mind if I try some of your tea?” Kyle said, a little too loudly, while handing Craig his drink.

Craig was about to answer “No, you have your own drink” but Kyle leaned in to take a sip from his straw. Craig watched as Kyle lingered a little too long, and noticed how Kyle’s eyes flickered towards Stan’s direction, as if making sure he was watching. Craig’s attention then landed on the light bruise around Kyle’s eye.

And then it all clicked.

“You fucking asshole,” Craig found himself whispering.

The sudden insult caught Kyle off guard and he pulled himself away from the drink to send Craig a questioning look. “What?”

“You fucking asshole,” Craig repeating, this time a little louder, “You used me.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. A statement that he just realized was true.

“What are you.. what are you talking about?” Kyle asked.

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Craig snapped, his voice now getting louder that Stan and his friend’s could hear. They all were looking towards Craig’s direction, and in any other case that would have gotten under Craig’s skin. But right now he didn’t give a damn who was listening to them. “You planned this whole shit out. You did this so that bastard Stan can see us together.”

“Lower your voice,” Kyle insisted as he eyes began to widen. “You're being irrational.”

“Irrational?” Craig scoffed. “I’m not a dumbass, Broflovski.”

Craig should have known. This “date” wasn’t a date. It was a way to get back at Stan, for whatever the hell Kyle and him were arguing about. This was all an elaborate scheme plotted by Kyle. For what? To get Stan jealous? For Stan to see him with the only other gay kid in school that wasn’t a close friend of his? What was the point of all this?

“You really thought I wouldn’t catch on?” Craig continued, his irritation and anger slowly burning up. “You’re an asshole.”

“You got it all wrong,” Kyle snapped back, “I didn’t use you.”

“So then why did you bring me here? Because you knew that dick was going to be here, am I right?” Craig didn’t bother to hide the accusing finger he shot towards Stan’s direction. He could hear Bill and Fosse giggling with each other as they watch the scene go down, but Stan remain silent as he continue to look towards them with a hard look. “You never gave two shits about me, but once shit got rough between you and your shitty boyfriend, that’s when you suddenly decided to give me the time of day. I don’t need your attention. I never did. I didn’t even want to come on this bullshit excuse of a date, either. But you made me waste my time.”

Craig didn’t give Kyle a chance to defend himself. He shouldn’t have to either. Kyle was at fault, and he was tired of looking at him.

After flipping both Kyle and Stan off, and snapping at Bill and Fosse to shut the fuck up from their stupid giggling, Craig stormed out of the building and made his direction straight towards his house.

Fuck Kyle. Fuck Stan. Fuck Bill and Fosse. Fuck everyone in that damn building, even the employee. Craig was over this shit and just wanted to go home.

He always almost halfway across the parking lot when he could hear his name being called out. Ignoring it, Craig tried to pick up his pace, but wasn’t able to shake Kyle off, who jogged in front of him and blocked Craig so he couldn’t walk any further.

“Move out the way, Broflovski.” Craig growled.

“Not after you hear me out.”

“I don’t need to hear shit.”

Kyle let out an aggravated sigh. “Just let me tell you what’s really going on, okay?”

Craig wanted to punch Kyle. He wanted to beat the shit out of him. His short temper was getting the best of him, and Craig always hated himself for always first resorting to violence whenever someone got on his nerves. Tweek used to always tell Craig that he should try meditation to help maintain his anger issues, the same way it helped Tweek whenever his anxiety would kick in. But meditation never seemed to work.

“I’m giving you a minute,” Craig said. He was trying his hardest to stay calm.

Kyle frowned, clearly not liking the idea that he was being timed. But it was better than nothing so he went to explain himself. “Look, you’re right. I brought you here because I knew Stan was going to be here. He always comes here after football practice with his friends. I wanted him to see us together. But it wasn’t to get him jealous. I just… I just wanted to prove a point to him.”

Craig didn’t say anything, so Kyle continued.

“Stan and I aren’t on good terms right now. And I guess I wanted to show him that I didn’t need him. That I didn’t need him, or Kenny, or even Cartman. I wanted to prove that I had my own life with my own friends and I didn’t need any of them. Stan swears that I can’t live without him so I wanted to show him otherwise.”

“So this whole date was some kind of bullshit excuse to drag me out here? Just because you’re in the middle of a fight with somebody else?”

Kyle let out a frustrated sigh. “You’re making it sound worse than it really is.”

“Oh, my apologies for calling you out your bullshit,” Craig responded with a roll of his eyes, “I forgot that you’re the victim in this situation. Not me, the person who had been lied to this whole time.”

“Can you not be an ass for one minute and properly hear me out? There’s still more to everything.”

Craig could feel his hands slowly forming into a fist. “You’re calling me the ass? Are you serious? You were the one who asked me to come on this damn date. You were the one who came all the way to my house and gave me this pathetic sob story about how you needed to spend a few hours with me because you needed someone ‘stable’ in your life. And all of it was just some damn plot for you to drag me over here so you can run into your little Stan boy. Just to try to prove to him something that’s not even true. You and I are not fucking friends, Broflovski.”

“Let’s just sit down so I can explain the whole story-”

“You’re so pathetic,” Craig snapped, cutting Kyle off from finishing his sentence.

That comment must have struck a nervous, because the pleading look on Kyle’s face was quickly replaced with a look of irritation. “I’m the pathetic one? Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror lately?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Maybe I’m at wrong for trying to prove something that’s not true, but at least I’m not damaging myself in more ways than one just because I’m no longer with that crackhead Tweek.”

Craig’s could feel his jaw tighten. His anger was getting at its peak. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“You know I’m right,” Kyle spat, “You went completely downhill the second Tweek broke up with you. Cutting class, heavy smoking, acting like the world is against you. Don’t think anyone hasn’t noticed either. Everyone fucking knows that you're still hung over Tweek. The only person who doesn’t is Tweek himself, but that’s because that kid always high off his meds that he can’t even realize what’s going on right in front of him.”

Craig didn’t realize what happened next. He felt a strong twitch in his eye, and the next thing he knew, he was grabbing Kyle by the collar and pulling him so close that their faces were less than a few inches apart. “Don’t you dare fucking talk about him like that,” Craig growled as he stared at Kyle dead in the eye.

“And what the hell are you going to do about it?” Kyle growled back.

Craig was about to retaliate, and he knew that it was going to involve a fist in Kyle’s face, but the sound a car door closing behind him caused him freeze on the spot. Both Kyle and Craig slowly turned their heads to the direction of the sound, and Craig could feel his body turn cold the moment he made eye contact with an all too familiar pair of wide eyes.

Craig didn’t even notice the car entering the parking lot. He was too distracted with his argument with Kyle, that he wasn’t paying any attention to his surrounds.

Tweek stood by his parent’s car, his eyes moving between Craig and Kyle. Mr. Tweek was still sitting in the driver's seat, but didn’t make any movements to get out the car. Craig could feel himself loosening his grip around Kyle’s collar until he completely let go. Kyle stumbled back a few steps before he managed to catch his balance.

Tweek glanced between the two boys, a mixture look of confusion and worrisome plastered on his face. His eyes finally landed on Kyle. “Hey, Kyle,” he said, “What-What’s going on?”

Kyle shot a glare towards Tweek, completely disregarding the nervous smile Tweek was sending towards him. His eyes then shifted over towards Craig, who was silently staring at Tweek with an unreadable expression.

“Go on,” Kyle grumbled to Craig, but it was loud enough for Tweek to hear despite being a good distance away, “He’s here. If you’re still not hung over him, prove it.”

Craig could feel his hands forming into fists again as he glared over at Kyle. He couldn’t help but noticed the way Tweek’s eyes darted down to Craig’s hands.

“Fuck off, Broflovski,” Craig growled.

“Make me,” Kyle growled back.

Craig took a step forward, completely ready to throw a fist without any hesitation this time. But Tweek quickly rushed his way to stand between the two boys before any form of violence could actually break out. Tweek is one of the only people who’s actually seen Craig angry, and it wasn’t a sight just anyone could handle. Craig was someone who knew how to control his emotions, so when he does manage to let his emotion let loose, it was difficult to get a grip on them again.

“Woah,” Tweek said, as he made sure to keep his arms out so that the two boys would stay at a good distance apart from each other, “I don’t know what’s going on, but-but maybe we should inside the shop?”

Craig wasn’t entirely sure why he said what he said next. Maybe it was the hard glare Kyle was sending his way. Or the fact that his anger was already at its peak. Or maybe it was the pleading look Tweek had on his face. Whatever it was, it caused Craig to say something that he never thought he’d find himself saying.

“Fuck you, Tweek.”

The realization of what Craig said didn’t hit him until he saw the way Tweek’s eyes widen at the sudden comment. His wide eyes quickly turned into a hard glare as he lowered his arms back into his side. “W-What?”

“I didn’t stutter.”

Tweek frowned. “I don’t think you want to get into an argument with me, Craig.”

Craig didn’t. He’s gotten into arguments with Tweek before. Despite his constant anxiety and overthinking, Tweek was stubborn when he was angry. He knew how to hold his ground down and fight back when he needed to.

So instead of retaliating, Craig sent one last glare at Kyle before turning around and walking away. He could hear Tweek asking Kyle if he was okay, which only boiled his anger even more. Kyle wasn’t the victim, he was. Kyle wasn’t the one who had his time wasted just to be used for something so stupid like getting someone else jealous.

Craig regret leaving his sweater in Kyle’s car. The temperature definitely dropped since leaving the coffee shop and it wasn’t until Craig couldn’t feel his nose that he wished he at least grabbed his sweater before storming out. Tucking his hands under his armpits in hope that it could warm them up, he made his way back home at a quick pace. The faster he got home, the faster he’d be out of the cold.

He didn't want to think. He didn’t want to think about what he said to Tweek, or why he even said it in the first place. He didn’t want to think about the fact that Tweek was more concerned with Kyle, and not him. He didn’t want to think about anything. Craig just wanted to go home, change his clothes, and stay in his bed for the rest of his life.

His parents were sitting on the couch when he walked through the front door, and Craig hoped his mother wasn’t going to notice the way he was shivering as he made his way towards the stairs.

“Craig,” she called out just as Craig took the first step up the staircase, “I tried looking for your blue sweater, honey. I couldn’t seem to find it. Are you sure you didn’t leave it at Clyde’s house or something?”

Craig paused at the bottom of the staircase. A sudden image rushed through his mind as he turned his head to look over at his mom. “Uh, actually, I found it. Thanks, though.”

Craig made his way up the steps, but the image thought was still stuck in his head. He did find his sweater. But he was so caught in the moment and was letting his anger get the best of him, that he didn’t even realize it until his mother mentioned it.

Tweek was wearing his sweater.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig remained quiet. He pulled at the collar of his shirt, his face suddenly getting hot as he thought about what he wanted to say next. “I want to tell Tweek how I feel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m still alive

Craig didn’t leave his bedroom for the next two days.

He wanted to spend his weekend hiding under his covers, away from the world, and regretting everything that had happened Friday night. Well, not everything. Craig certainly didn’t regret calling Kyle out for the bullshit he put Craig throughout that night. He didn’t regret flipping Stan and his stupid friends off. He didn’t regret storming out of the coffee shop, or getting into an argument with Kyle in the middle of the parking lot. And he definitely didn’t regret leaving the “date” unfinished and going home early.

But he did regret letting his emotions get the best of him. If there was one thing Craig was best at, it’s keeping his emotions in tact. Sure, there are times where he tends to get annoyed easily and doesn’t bother to hide it, but he was always able to keep himself composed for the most part and knew when to walk away before he anger got too much.

And maybe it was the fact that Kyle was trying so hard to rile him up that night that caused Craig to snap. He wasn’t thinking as his mind went blank and the words came out of him before he even knew it. It wasn’t until he saw the infuriating look on Tweek’s face that Craig realized what he had said. But he was too angry to care at the moment. And now, the next day, he was just full of regret.

What was he supposed to do now? Should he call and apologize to Tweek? Would Tweek even want to talk to him after what what he said? And even if he did, what would Craig’s excuse for snapping at him be? It’s not like he could tell Tweek about what Kyle did without admitting that he agreed to go on a date with him. Craig was hoping that Tweek would never find out about it. But what if Kyle told Tweek all about it after Craig stormed away that night. Oh god, how in the hell could Craig face Tweek if Tweek does know about it.

He couldn’t.

So instead of trying to fix it, Craig locked himself in his room and spent the weekend feeling sorry for himself. He turned off his phone in case anyone did try to contact him, which he doubted was going to happen. The only time he left his room was when he had to use the bathroom or grab a bite to eat. Aside from that, he kept himself confined in his tiny bedroom for two days straight.

By the time Monday came around, Craig felt even shittier that ever before.

He walked through the front doors of the school right as the ending bell for their first class rang throughout the halls. Craig already knew he wasn’t going to go to any of his classes, so he threw his bag into his locker and made his way towards the back stairs of the school. The goth kids should have some cigs they were willing to sell to him. Maybe he can even get it for free if he flirts a little with that Henrietta chick. He’s noticed her eyes lingering on him longer than they should have the last few times he brought from them. But Craig looked terrible, but hell, maybe he’s into the barely-slept or ate rugged look.

Craig was contemplating on what to say to her (he hasn’t flirted with someone that wasn’t Tweek in years so he was a little rusty in that area), when he felt someone grabbing a fistful of his sleeve and was pulled aside and into a quiet corner of the hall. Craig was ready to snap at whoever grabbed him, but bit back the annoyance when he made eye contact with a very not-so-happy looking Token.

“Woah there,” Craig grumbled once Token let go of his sleeve, “You know I don’t like being pulled around.” He flatten down the crumbled part of his sleeve and frowned even deeper when he noticed the wrinkles weren’t going away.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Token barked, not at all trying to keep his voice down. The students passing by them looked over at their direction for a split second, but continued to make their way to their classes. A few of them eyed Craig’s messy appearance, and the boy held back from flipping them off. Seriously, people need to mind their own goddamn business.

“A lot of things are, apparently,” Craig responded. His tone was flat, like usual.

Token rolled his eyes. “Damn it, Craig,” Token snapped, “I’m not dealing with your sarcasm today.”

Craig’s eyebrows furrowed together. “What’s up your ass?” It’s been a while since he’d last seen Token this irritated before. Probably not since Elementary school after Cartman spent a whole month wearing a “Token’s life Matters” shirt and Token knocked him out after Cartman refused to take it off. Token wasn’t known for being a hostile. It took a lot to get Token riled up, and once he was, well then you’re fucked.

“Did you forget about the promise you made to Clyde?”

“Promise? What promise-” Shit. The guys hangout. Shit, Craig completely forgot. He was so caught up with what happened with Tweek, it completely slipped out of his mind that he had agreed to hang out with the guys on Saturday so that they play that stupid zombie game. “Damnit. I forgot.”

Token let out a frustrated sigh. “You forgot, huh? Do you know how devastated Clyde was when you flaked out on him?”

“I had a lot going on this weekend. It just slipped out of my mind. It’s not a big deal. I’ll talk to Clyde later-“

“It is a big deal,” Token snapped, completely cutting Craig off. His voice wasn’t getting any lower, and the staring from the passing students weren’t stopping. “Clyde was really looking forward to finally getting the chance to hang out with you again. We were finally going to hang out all together. Because ever since you broke up with Tweek, you’ve been acting like the rest of us don’t even exist anymore.”

Craig felt offended at that comment. There was no way that was true. “No I haven’t-”

“When was the last time you actually hung out with us?”

Craig opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out. He couldn’t remember the last time he hung out with them.

“I thought so,” Token said.

Craig sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He could feel the grease in his hair and wondered when was the last time he took a proper shower. Maybe he should have worn his old chullo hat to hide his poor excuse of personal hygiene. “Look, dude. Some stuff came up and I got side tracked and, I don’t know, I just forgot. Clyde will get over it. Just tell him we can hang out this weekend or something.”

“No,” Token growled. “I’m not telling Clyde anymore empty promises. Craig, it’s more than just skipping out on him. You’ve been neglecting us a lot lately. And it might not be a big deal to you, but it is to Clyde. He’s your best friend, dude.”

At that moment, the second bell rang, indicating that classes were now starting. Token looked down the empty hall and muttered something under his breath before glaring back towards Craig. “Go to the music room during lunch. And I swear to god, if you flake out on us this time, I’m going to kick your ass.” Token continued to glare at Craig for a few more seconds, which might have looked a little funny to any outsider since Token was a few inches shorter than Crag. But Craig knew better than to underestimate a threat from Token.

Token began to make his way to class, but stopped after a few steps and turned back to glare at Craig. “And go to fucking class for once. I’m tired of all the teachers up my ass because you never show up anymore. I’m not your fucking keeper that I have to keep track on your damn attendance.” With that, Token stomped his way down the hall and out of Craig’s sight.

Craig stood there for a few more seconds, his mind completely out of it after what just happened. Why the hell does Token want him to go to the music room for lunch? He hasn’t been in the music room since freshman year. He glanced at the door exists down the hall, which were tantalizing so close to him, and with a sigh, he turned around and headed back towards his locker to grab his books before going to class.

* * *

 

Craig had no issues with going back to class. He preferred not to, since school is clearly not his thing and he spent most of his time staring at the wall and daydreaming than actually paying attention to whatever lesson the teacher had assigned that day. And coming back after skipping for so long, Craig’s attention span was even worse than ever before. But being back in class wasn’t completely as bad as Craig had dreaded it to be. That was, if he ignored the eyerolls and dirty looks his teachers would send him for finally showing up to class after disappearing for almost three months. As well as the pile of work he clearly needed to make up if he wanted to actually understand what was going on in class.

The only class Craig completely wanted to avoid was his English class. And that was only because he shared that class with Kyle fucking Broflovski. After what happened that night, Craig wasn’t even sure if he even wanted to look at that bastard. But he knew for a fact that he definitely didn’t want to be in the same room with him for a full forty-five minutes. But Token was already pissed with Craig for flaking out on them, and Craig didn’t want to get into more issues if Token found out he really did skip his classes today. He wasn’t scared of getting his ass kicked by Token. Craig knew how to put up a fight if he needed to. But Token was a master at giving lectures, and that was something Craig didn’t know how to handle.

So Craig figured he might as well suck it up and get it over with. As long as Kyle didn’t talk or acknowledge him, then there shouldn’t be a problem.

“Wow, look at what the cat finally dragged in.”

Craig agreed to go to class for once, but he didn’t agree on getting there on time. He was 15 minutes late when he walked through the classroom door. He decided to just ignore Mr. Kepler’s comment and made his way to his old seat in the back of the classroom. Mr. Kepler was an asshole and Craig didn’t have time to care about the snide remarks he had for his students.

“Nice,” Kevin Stoley said with a grin once Craig sat down in the desk next to him, “I thought you died on us, bro.”

“Shut up, Stoley.”

“Wow. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” despite the comment, Kevin still had that stupid grin on his stupid handsome face. “Really though, I didn’t think you’d ever come back to class. Did you finally get caught or something?”

“Something like that.” Craig didn’t feel like explaining himself, nor did he think he should have to. People really needed to mind their own business. Especially Kevin. When did Kevin stop being that Star Trek obsessive nerd and instead became an annoying brick.

“Hey, if you need to catch up on the work, I don’t mind giving you my notes.”

“Uh. Thanks.” Then again, Kevin isn’t all too bad.

Today’s lesson was about the book that the class was supposed to be reading, and since Craig didn’t even know what the title of the book was, he didn’t bother to pay attention to whatever Mr. Kepler had to say. So he spent a good amount of class time doodling in his notebook, instead of taking notes, and counting the minutes until class was over.

Craig had his head down throughout the whole class period, and it wasn’t until halfway through the lesson that he felt something hitting the top of his head, which made him look up. A balled up piece of paper was sitting on his desk. Craig growled under his breath as he grabbed the paper ball and unraveled it. Written on the piece of paper was fours words everybody always dreads to hear: We need to talk.

Craig looked around the room until his eyes made contact with a familiar pair of green eyes. The same pair of green eyes that had been glaring at him only a few days ago.

Kyle fucking Broflovski.

Craig spent the rest of the period contemplating on whether he should actually talk with Kyle or not. What was there for them to even talk about? Was Kyle going to demand an apology, because there was no was in hell was Craig is going to apologize. Did Kyle want to apologize? Yeah right. He’s way too stubborn to admit he was at fault. Kyle has done worst before and still tried to point fingers at other people.

Whatever it is that Kyle wanted to talk about, Craig honestly didn’t want to hear it.

Yet, Craig still somehow found himself sitting alongside Kyle in the back of the school stairs right after class had ended. Okay, so maybe Craig was just a little curious to hear what Kyle had to say. The tension between them was clearly there, and any outsider could easily tell something was not right between them. They sat there for a few minutes, but the silence was making Craig get highly annoyed.

Kyle was the first to speak. “Uh, thanks for meeting me.”

Craig wanted to scoff. But he didn’t want the tension to get any worse. He wasn’t in the mood to get into another argument with Kyle. Partly because it was a waste of his time, but mostly because there was no one here to stop him if his anger got out of control again. “Yeah. Sure.”

The silence continued and the two sat there without sparing even a glance towards each other. Eventually, Craig had enough. “Did you actually have something to talk with me about, or are you trying to just waste my time again?”

It was clear that Kyle wanted to snap back, but he kept his composer as he turned his body so he was facing more towards Craig’s direction. “I do want to talk to you. I want to explain myself. You know, with what happened friday night.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“Well, I think you should,” Kyle said, “The least you can do is hear me out. Then afterwards, if you still feel like what I did was wrong, then fine. But at least give me a chance to, uh, try to redeem myself.”

Craig could really care less about Kyle’s side of the situation. Whether Kyle felt like his reasonings were valid or not, it still didn’t excuse the fact that Kyle spent the whole night lying to Craig. But if listening to what Kyle had to say will finally get him off of Craig’s back, Craig figured he might as well just get it over with.

“Just hurry. I got class to get to.”

“I’m sure your attendance record is the last thing you’re worried about.” Kyle mumbled under his breath.  
  
Craig let the comment slide, mainly because it was true.

“Can you just get on with whatever you want to say?” Craig honestly didn’t have the patience for this. Even if he didn’t care about getting to class on time, he’d rather be bored out of his mind in class than be sitting out here with Kyle.

Kyle took a moment to compose himself. He closed his eyes for a brief second, his mind racing to find the right words. “I guess,” Kyle slowly began. His eyes opened and drifted over to look down at his feet, “I guess you can say that me and Stan aren’t friends.”

“No kidding,” Craig muttered, “That black eye of yours is enough to figure that out.”

Kyle’s hand instantly covered his left eye, but winced when he applied too much pressure on it. He let out a forceful chuckle before lowering his hand once again. “Yeah. It’s been a few weeks and the bruise still hasn’t completely healed up. But we didn’t stop becoming friends after he punched me. We stopped way longer before that. But I guess we just never really acknowledged it?”

Craig had no idea what Kyle was talking about. He could have sworn he had seen Stan and Kyle talking and hanging out together before the whole punching thing happened. It wasn’t until Tweek mentioned the incident that Craig then noticed that the two were blatantly avoiding each other as much as possible.

“I mean, we still spent time together and everything,” Kyle continued, as if he knew what Craig was thinking, “But it was kinda obvious that our friendship wasn’t like it was before. And I guess it changed after Stan broke up with Wendy.”

“That was in the 8th grade, dude.” Who could forget about it? It was a messy break up that had Wendy throwing things at him in the middle of the school hallway and Stan screaming at the top of his lungs.

Kyle nodded his head. “I think I might have been the reason he broke up with her.”

“Dude, elaborate.”

“I mean, I didn’t tell him to break up with her or anything. It was obvious that their relationship was thinning out by that point. Stan was really only sticking around because she was all he knew. Their on-again-off-again relationship was so toxic, and I never understood why they kept at it for so long. Like, they’ve been together since they were eight, so I guess Stan stayed with her for all these years because that’s what everyone expected it from him.”

Craig could honestly relate, about doing things because people expected you to. “I always found them so stupid,” Craig said, “I remember them fighting about the stupidest crap sometimes.” Tweek and Craig promised each other when they first got into their fake relationship that they wouldn’t be that couple that’s always arguing. Not that they really got into arguments to begin with. They would bicker sometimes, but it never got as bad as Wendy and Stan.

“Stan would always come to me after their arguments. Normally Wendy was always in the right, but I used to just agree with Stan so that he wouldn’t get mad at me too.” Kyle furrowed his eyebrows. “I hated their relationship.”

Craig wasn’t a big fan either. While they were cute in elementary school, the older they got, the more pathetic Stan and Wendy’s relationship became. “What does Stan and Wendy has to do with what happened on Friday night?”

“I’m getting to it,” Kyle assured. “Anyways, after he and Wendy broke up, Stan and I started hanging out more. Which, I mean, made sense. The time he used to spend being around Wendy, he would spend coming over to my place instead. If you thought we hung out a lot before,” Kyle said with a low chuckle, “Man, it was like we were literally glued by the hip. It felt like we were kids again, always being around together and all. But I never got sick of him. I liked having him around.”

Why did that sound so familiar to Craig. Craig glanced over to Kyle. The soft expression that was now spread across Kyle’s face as he stared down at his shoes felt all too recognizable to Craig. It was like Craig was looking at himself. And if that was the case, that soft expression could only mean one thing..

“Did you,” Craig started off slowly, “Were you in love with Stan?”

Kyle remained silent for a moment, but then he let out a bitter chuckle as his fingers began to play with the hem of his sleeve. “I wouldn’t say I was in love. But we did mess around. A lot”

Craig was taken back for a moment. “You guys what?”

This time Kyle really did laugh. “He was the one who made the first move. We were at my place. I don’t remember what we were doing, or what we were even talking about. But I do remember Stan being a lot more touchy that day. I mean, he’s normally always touchy, but that’s just how he is. Being touchy is his thing. That day, however, it was more than usual. Like, it was weird. And before I knew it, he leaned in to kiss me and, I don’t know, it kinda just kicked off from there. I wasn’t sure about anything that day, but Stan seemed like he really wanted it. Us, I mean. He wanted us. It happened about a year after he broke up with Wendy.”

“Next thing I knew,” Kyle continued, “It became a regular thing for us to mess around after school. It went on for a few months, and I was fine with keeping everything behind closed doors. I didn’t want anyone really knowing about us, and I’m pretty sure Stan felt the same. But then Stan started acting weirder as time went by.”

Craig was having an issue with understanding what Kyle was saying. “Wait,” he said, “You’re telling me you and Stan fucked?”

Kyle sent him a look. “If you want to be so direct about it, then yeah. We fucked. Multiple times. We’ve also gave each other handjobs, blowjobs, oh and one time he-”

“Woah, woah, woah. Too much.” Craig scrunched up his face as the image of Kyle and Stan flashed across his mind. Oh god, why did he even need to know this?

Kyle grinned. “Now, let me finish. Where was I? Oh yeah.” Kyle cleared his throat and continued. “So, basically Stan started getting a lot more intimate then I was used to. Like, he would want to hold my hand even if we were just watching a movie in my room. Or he wouldn't want to leave until I gave him a goodbye kiss. Sometimes he would even spend the whole afternoon just playing with my hair and would get upset if I got up for whatever reason. It was weird. I wasn’t used to Stan being like that. Before we would just mess around and then immediately go back to being two best buds. But Stan started acting like we were an actual couple. I mean, I didn't hate it. I just wasn’t used to it.

“And then it started going outside the bedroom. Even at school he would stand way too close to me. I’d catch him staring at me sometimes. He’d get easily defensive whenever someone poked fun at me, even if it was a joke. Maybe I’m just bad at reading people, but I was beginning to think that Stan was actually falling for me.”

Craig furrowed his eyebrows as he listened to Kyle’s story. He’s never noticed anything weird going on between Stan and Kyle, but then again, he never did pay attention to them. After his gang and their gang grew apart in middle school, Craig kept his distance from Stan and them as much as he could.

“But somewhere along the way, I guess I started falling for him too?” Kyle let out a dejected sigh. “It wasn’t love. I mean, I have love for him, but I wasn’t in love. But something was clearly there and I was stupid enough to tell Stan about it.”

Craig could feel his heart drop. “So he punched you for it?”

“What? No,” Kyle said, clearly taken back by the accusation. That answer, for some reason, lifted a weight off Craig’s shoulder that he didn’t realize he had. “I told him about it months before he punched me. The punch was over something else. But after I told him, he started being weird again. But in a different way. He started doing this thing were he’d push me away after being so clingy and touchy with me. Like, he’d treat me so nice and stuff, and then suddenly would cut me off for a few days. He wouldn’t answer my texts and he’d ignore me at school. He would basically act like I didn’t exist. And then when I would start to feel like whatever we had between us was over, he’d come back to me and act like nothing happened. He’d go back to holding my hand at home and kissing me whenever we were alone. It was weird and I was stupid for just letting him keep doing it. But I did. I let him keep coming in and out whenever he wanted.”

Kyle rubbed his hands on his face, purposely making sure he didn’t put any pressure on his left eye. “After a while I got tired of it. It was like Stan didn’t know what he wanted. He’d want me and then suddenly he didn’t. So when I had enough I called him out on it. We fought and we said a few things we probably shouldn’t have said. I didn’t intend to fight with him when the guys were around. I was going to wait until everyone left before I even mentioned anything. But he had been ignoring me the days before, and when the guys went into the kitchen to grab some snacks and Stan pulled me in to grab a quick kiss, I snapped. I pushed him away and I yelled at him. I said some stuff about how he couldn’t keep messing with my head. How he couldn’t keep acting like an asshole to me and then expect me to take him back whenever he wanted me to. I guess I pressed a few buttons, because Stan started yelling back at me. I was too mad to really hear what he was saying, and honestly I don’t remember what I was saying either. But somewhere along the fight one of us brought up Wendy, and when she was brought up I said something that was really uncalled for.”

“What did you say?”

Kyle sighed. “If there’s one thing that Stan is sensitive about, it’s his parents. Especially his dad. So when I told Stan that he should just get back with Wendy so that they can grow up to be in a depressive and toxic marriage like his parents, and have him end up being a low life acholic like his dad, he responded by punching me in the face. I fell to the ground and everything just went white after that. Kenny ran in to pull Stan away from me, and Tweek, after spending a good while looking like he was going to break down himself, helped me up and dragged me out the house before anymore punches were thrown. The last thing I remember hearing is Stan saying that I’m nothing without him.”

Craig watched as Kyle pulled off his green ushanka hat and run his fingers through his red hair. “Those words really got to me. I spent the next few weeks staying away from Stan and the rest of the guys, but I those words kept running through my mind no matter how hard I tried to forget about it. So I guess I wanted to prove to him that I didn’t need him. And I guess I thought the only way to prove it to him was to be seen with someone else. Not just anyone either, if you catch my drift.” Kyle looked over at Craig with a guilty expression. “Unfortunately, i thought that person would be you.”

It was all starting to make sense now. All the rumors that have been going around about Stan and Kyle, Kyle uncharacteristically asking Craig to go on a date with him, and Kyle desperately trying to convince Craig to go inside Tweak Bro’s because he knew Stan was going to be there. But even if it all made sense, Craig still wasn’t convinced enough to accept any apologize from Kyle just yet. Even if he did everything out of petty anger towards what Stan put him through, there was no moral reason for Kyle to drag Craig along with everything.

“I didn’t just picked you because you’re gay,” Kyle said after a long moment of silence. “I mean, I honestly could have just picked anyone to be seen with. Guy or girl.”

“So why didn’t you? Why’d you pick me?”

Kyle sighed. “Honestly? Because I thought if I did get caught using you, you wouldn’t care.” When Craig didn’t say anything, Kyle went on. “You walk around South Park with this big front that you don’t care about what anyone thinks or what anyone has to say. You’re so even tempered and easily unfazed, and so I thought that if I got caught, you wouldn’t get so upset about it. But I guess I didn’t take into consideration that you actually do have feelings and what I did wasn’t fair to you whether you actually cared or not. So, I’m sorry.”

Craig didn’t want to accept the apology. Maybe he was being a little petty about the whole situation. But it was more than just the fact that Kyle used him. Kyle just admitted that he didn’t even bother to consider the fact that Craig even had feelings while planning everything out. What, was Craig some kind of robot? Did he really seem that dead inside that Kyle just assumed he would okay about being used?

And there’s also the whole Tweek incident.

“The stuff you said to me in the parking lot,” Craig began, “About me damaging myself because my break up with Tweek-”

“It was completely out of my place to say anything about you and Tweek,” Kyle quickly interrupted, “I shouldn’t have brought it up when it wasn’t even part of what we were arguing about.”

Craig felt himself groan and he dropped his head into his hands. “I cursed at him.” His voice was muffled out by his hands and he could feel his chest getting heavy over the guilt.

“Yeah,” Kyle said, “Sorry about that too. I shouldn’t have brought him up. I can tell he’s a… uh, a sensitive topic for you.”

Craig lifted his head and looked over at Kyle. “You think?”

“Sorry.”

Craig sighed and straightened his back as he began to stare at the school’s soccer field not too far away from where they were sitting. “But what you said was right.”

He could hear Kyle trying to hold in a scoff, but Craig ignored it. “I am still hung over Tweek. But it’s a lot more complicated that just the fact that we broke up and I still have feelings for him. There’s more to it that no one else knows about it. So, I guess when people tell me that I need to get over him without knowing the whole story, it gets me a little mad. Not annoyed, like everything usually gets me, but actually mad. And it's hard for me to control myself when I get mad. Which is why I try to not let anything faze me. Once I lose control of my emotions, it takes a lot for me to grab ahold of them again.”

Craig could feel his face soften up when his next thought ran through his head. “Tweek used to try to make me do meditation to help me control my anger. Whenever he sensed I was letting my emotions act up, he would take me somewhere quiet, and he would hold my hands with his and make me do this three-part breathing cycle to help me calm down. It never worked for me and I hated doing it. But every time Tweek grabbed my hand, I could feel myself getting calmer. I didn’t need the breathing exercises. I just needed Tweek.” Craig smiled as he continued to look off at the soccer field, “It’s funny. Tweek is the last person who you’d ever think would be able to calm someone down. Everyone’s so used to seeing me help him whenever he’s having a panic attack, but there’s been so many times Tweek had help me just by holding my hand.”

Kyle watched the way Craig seemed to light up the moment he began talking about Tweek. It was a feeling that felt all too familiar to him, and as much as he didn’t want to, he couldn’t help but think of Stan. “I plan on explaining everything to Tweek. Before the end of the school day.”

Craig quickly shot his head towards Kyle’s direction. “Really?”

Kyle nodded his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong and you shouldn’t be in a feud with him because of me. The least I can do is clear everything up between you and Tweek.”

Craig could feel a weight suddenly be lifted off his shoulder. “Uh, thanks. I really appreciate it.” He still didn’t feel completely satisfied with the idea of Kyle explaining everything on his behalf, but at least it was a first step to settling the situation. Tweek would clearly listen to what Kyle had to say, because for some reason he actually liked Kyle as a person, unlike Craig who normally wouldn’t trust a thing the redhead has to say. But maybe Kyle wasn’t all that bad of a person.

Kyle flashed Craig a smile for the thanks. The two turned their heads back forward so that they were once again looking towards the soccer field. They spent the the rest of the class period letting the silence sit between them, but unlike friday night when the silence aggravated Craig, this time he didn’t mind it at all.

* * *

 

Craig and Kyle went their own ways once the bell rang. After assuring he would talk to Tweek during their lunch break, Kyle made his way down the hall to the cafeteria. Craig, on the other hand, went the opposite direction to make his way to the music room.

For the first time in a long while, Craig actually felt light on his feet. It couldn’t remember the last time he felt this semi-good.

Craig had to admit, Tweek was a stubborn bastard. Tweek was famous for giving the silent treatment on those rare occasions when they did get into an argument for whatever reason. Craig was always the first to apology (which wasn’t a problem for him since he was usually always in the wrong), and it wouldn’t be a few days before Tweek was back to his chatty self around Craig.

So knowing that Kyle was going to explain everything to Tweek was exactly what he needed to make his anxiety over the whole situation go away. For now, at least. And once Kyle clears everything up, Craig will be able to properly apologize on his own without being worried that Tweek would reject what he had to say.

The downside of everything, however, is that Tweek will no doubt find out that Craig and Kyle went on a date. He wanted to avoid anyone finding out about it, since it was technically a petty date to begin with. But there was no point trying to hide it now. At least now Craig could be able to clear his name and get back at the task in hand; to win Tweek back.

Now the only thing left that Craig needed to get over with is whatever Token has in store for him in the music room.

It wasn’t long before Craig was standing in front of the music door. He didn’t realize how dreading it was to be here until he was reaching for the door handle and he could feel his annoyance building up. But it was better to just get this over with than to drag this out any longer than it had to be. If sitting in here and having Token lecture him for the next forty-five minutes means that Token will get over the fact that Craig flaked out on them on Saturday, then Craig might as well just do it.

Craig didn’t expect, however, to see Clyde and Jimmy in the room as well. The three of them were sitting in chairs that was formed in a circle, with only one empty chair left. They all turned their heads when they heard Craig walk into the room, and they immediately stood up once Craig closed the door behind him.

Craig raised an eyebrow as his eyes moved from each one of his friends, until it landed on Token. “Uh. What’s going on?”

Token gestured towards the empty seat. “Sit.”

Craig eyebrow just raised higher as he slowly made his way to the empty seat. After a moment of hesitation, he sat down and continued to watch his friends as they sat down right after him.

It was quiet for a while, and Craig wasn’t sure if he should say something or not. There was an unfamiliar, serious tension that hung through the air, which was really unusual for him and his friends. His gang was all about being carefree and cracking jokes, so this serious side of them was making Craig feel uncomfortable.

Token was the first to speak. “Craig, we need to talk.”

Craig looked around at the guys again. “Talk?”

“Yeah,” Token said, “Talk. Like, a serious talk.”

“A serious talk…” Craig repeated. He frowned. “How serious?”

The guys exchanged a looked. “It’s an in-in-intervention,” Jimmy said, “For you.”

Craig’s eyebrows furrowed as he tried to processes what he just heard. “An intervention? What the hell are you guys talking about? Why the hell would I need an intervention?” Weren’t interventions supposed to be for addicts or whatever?

“Because you do,” Token said, “You just don’t know how to acknowledge it. Which is what an intervention is for. To help you acknowledge your problem and find a way to help you through it.”

Craig rolled his eyes as he sunk into his seat and crossed his arms against his chest. “And what’s my problem, huh? Is it the smoking? You guys know I can stop whenever I want. It’s not a problem. I’ve done it before.” Then again, it was Tweek who had to threaten him for Craig to finally call it quits. But he was pretty sure he could stop on his own without Tweek.

“It’s not entirely about the smoking.”

“Then what is it? Skipping class? My lack of sleep? Has me hanging out with Kenny becoming an issue for you guy? We’re not fucking, just so you know. So, what’s my problem, huh?”

The guys remained quiet, and it seemed as if none of them wanted to say what the real problem was. Clyde was avoiding eye contact, Jimmy was biting down on his bottom lip, and Token was trying to avoid showing any signs of emotions on his face. All signs Craig learned over the years that showed they were nervous about something.

“Spit it out,” Craig demanded when he noticed nobody had the guts to tell him what his actual problem was. He figured no one wanted to be the one to call him out, but he didn’t like them biting their tongues either. They were afraid of him, clearly.

Eventually Token was the one to step up. As always. “You’re problem is Tweek.”

That certainly caught Craig off guard. “Tweek?”

The guys nodded their heads. “It’s not just Tweek, though,” Token continued, “It’s your break up with Tweek and how you’re letting it basically ruin yourself.”

Craig could feel his eye wanting to twitch. He’s heard this before. About how his break up with Tweek has ‘changed’ him. And he’s aware of it. He’s not stupid. It’s not like Craig is that dense to not see how much this break up has affected him these past few months. He’s noticed the weight lost, the lack of personal hygiene, the way he avoids talking to anyone now. But that didn’t mean he wanted to talk about it. Or that he wanted to do anything to fix it. And the fact that the guys suddenly want to have an intervention because of it was getting him mad.

“We’re not doing this.” Craig tried to stand up, but before he could make a move, Clyde quickly made a dash out of his own seat and ran behind Craig’s. Craig soon felt the sudden weight of Clyde’s hands on his shoulders holding him down. Despite the height difference between the two, Clyde was no doubt stronger than Craig, and it might have to do with the fact that Clyde used to be on the wrestling team before getting kicked out for getting too competitive during the tournaments.

“Get off me,” Craig growled. He might be stronger, but Craig was no doubt more intimidating.

“You can’t keep trying to run from this,” Token continued, “You need to accept that there’s a problem and we need to do something about it.”

Craig glared over at Token and Jimmy, his anger growing by every second. “Let me go.”

“We can’t, Cr-Craig.”

Craig could feel his fist beginning to form, and that was the last thing he wanted right now. The guys were aware of his anger problems, but it never gotten to the point that he lost control in front of them before. And that was usually because Tweek was always around to calm him down.

“We just don’t understand,” Token said. His eyes cautiously glanced down to Craig’s fist, but they went back to giving Craig a stern look. “Why is this break up really affecting you like this? We’ve all been through break ups before. But we never became this bad.”

“Really, cause last time I checked, Clyde locked himself in his room for the whole summer after Bebe cheated on him for the third time,” Craig spat. It was a comment uncalled for, but Craig knew it was better to attack with his words than his fist. He’s learned that the hard way.

The grip on his shoulders loosened for a split moment. “That… that’s different,” Clyde tried to defend.

“And what about you,” Craig said as he glared over at Jimmy, “You’re going to tell me that you still don’t have those pictures of that chick you met at cripple camp two years ago? The same chick who didn’t respond to any of your messages after coming back to South Park?”

Jimmy looked taken back. “Well..”

“And don’t even make me bring up Nicole,” Craig growled as his eyes slowly turned to make direct eye contact with Token.

A struck of anger crossed Token’s face, but he was able to compose himself as he took a deep breath and straighten his back. “This isn’t about us. It’s about you. We’ve been through our break ups, but they didn’t change our whole personality. Do you see us skipping class and hanging out with the goth kids?”

“They’re not that bad-”

“I’m pretty sure Henrietta has a list of people she’s planning on poisoning after graduation,” Clyde muttered under his breath.

Craig frowned. “Okay, but that doesn’t mean I have one.”

“Ye-ye-yet.”

Craig groaned. He felt himself sinking more into his seat. “It this all because I bailed on you guys? I told you, something came up and it just slipped my mind.”

“It’s more than just that,” Token said. He leaned forward and placed a hesitant hand on Craig’s knee. Token was well aware of how much Craig didn’t like being touch. “Craig, we’re worried about you. We just want to understand on what’s going on in your mind. We want to help, but we can’t if you keep holding everything in.”

“We’re your friends, dude,” Clyde said. Once again his grip on Craig loosened, but this time he kept them like that. “When you’re sad, we’re sad. And we’ve been sad for months now.”

“We want you to be yourself again, dude. That’s a-a-a-all.”

Craig looked around the circle. His eyes scanned between Token and Jimmy before he looked over his shoulder towards Clyde. He saw Clyde’s furrowed eyebrows and the worried expression written all over his face. Craig then felt Token giving his knee a reassuring squeeze, and he could feel his anger slowly washing away. Closing his eyes, Craig turned his head back forward and let out a long sigh. “Okay. I’ll talk.”

He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the look of relief on Token’s face.

“You can let him go,” Jimmy said. Clyde finally released Craig’s shoulders and sat back down in his seat.

“But before we start,” Craig began as he looked around at the guys, “I need to confess something.”

Token and Clyde exchanged a concerning look. “Yeah, dude,” Clyde said, “You can say whatever you need.”

Craig swallowed a nervous lump that he wasn’t aware had formed. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, not exactly sure where or how to start. “Well, you guys already know; I still have feelings for Tweek. And to you guys, and to everyone else in this damn town, it seems like I can’t get over my break up with him. But it’s more than that. There’s a lot more to my relationship with Tweek that we’ve been hiding from you guys.” Craig could feel his palms beginning to sweat and he wiped them on his jeans as he continued. “We’ve been lying.”

“What do you mean?” Token slowly questioned.

Craig knew it was time to just confess. This intervention wasn’t going to work unless the guys knew the whole story, which meant Craig needed to tell them everything. Everything from the day he and Tweek started to date, to their break up, to where they stand now. As much as Craig didn’t want to tell them, he knew it was time. There was no point of keeping this a secret, but especially not from his closest group of friends.

“Tweek and I were in a fake relationship.”

He was expecting the confused look from the guys, but he wasn’t expecting the shock of silence that followed. It was clear they were having a hard time processing what Craig had just said, and when it didn’t seem that they were going to say anything any time soon, Craig decided to continue.

“We were only dating because we felt like we had to,” Craig spoke more slowly as he tried to find the right words, “When the Asian girls came and began drawing all those pictures of us, everybody seemed so happy. Like the town was at peace for once. You guys remember how we broke up a few days after finding out that those girls were drawing us?”

The guys nodded their heads.

“Yeah, well,” Craig said, “We thought breaking up would make them stop drawing. But instead it just made them draw even more. And instead of everyone continuing to stay happy and all that crap, everyone just suddenly became depressed. It was like South Park was so dependent on whether two elementary kids were dating or not, that the towns happiness was affected by what me and Tweek did together. And when we noticed it, we realized we really didn’t have a choice. We needed to be in a fake relationship.” It was a lot of pressure for two ten-year-olds to be forced into, Craig now realized. He dedicated almost half of his life in this lie just to make other people happy. He wondered how much worst it must have been for Tweek.

“Wait,” Clyde said. His eyes were wide and he looked like he wasn’t understanding a thing Craig was saying. “You guys were lying to us all this time? For seven years?”

Craig shrugged a shoulder. “Yeah.”

“How did you guys do it?” Token asked, “I mean, You guys were so convincing.”

Craig felt himself cracking a small smile. “Tweek’s better at acting than you’d expect. He’s actually the one who took a lot of the leads to make us look like a real couple.” Tweek was the one who did the research to find out what couples did together, on account that the two of them were only kids and neither had dated before. Tweek was the one who set up the scenarios to act out of front of their peers. Tweek was the one who lead Craig throughout their whole fake relationship. (But it wasn’t like Craig had minded either.)

“You guys kissed.” Jimmy said as a statement, but still as if he wasn’t convinced that Craig had been lying this whole time.

“We did what we had to do.” They didn’t kiss a whole lot in front of the guys, mainly because Craig wasn’t a huge fan of PDA, but they did kiss a shit ton behind closed doors. But maybe that was just because of their teenage hormones.

Token pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment. “So, you’re telling me that for 10 years you and Tweek were only dating because you thought it’d make the town happy?”

“When you say it like that it sounds a little bit ridiculous,” Craig mumbled.

“Because it is! You guys literally sacrificed your childhood for a small, redneck, white-trash town! And for what? To have these people down your throats all these years because they, for whatever weird reason, care so much about a gay couple. It’s not like you guys are the only gay couple in town!”

That’s true. Big Gay Al and Mr. Slave are still in their honeymoon phase after all these years.

Craig bit his lip. “Either way, it happened.”

“But wait,” Clyde said, the confused expression still on his face, “You guys broke up this time and the town didn’t get depressed. Only you did.”

Craig ignored the last part and went back to explaining everything. “When we got to highschool, the Asian girls started writing stories about us. You know, those stupid fanfics or whatever you want to call them. Me and Tweek were able to deal with it at first. By then the town started getting over us, but we still didn’t want to risk anything by breaking up. But then the girls started getting weird with their stories and kept trying to shove them down our throats, and I guess Tweek just couldn’t take it anymore. He was the one who wanted to break up. And just my luck, the same time when we broke up, the Asian girls left the school. Since the town no longer cares about us, and the Asian girls aren’t there to pressure us, there’s no reason to fake-date anymore.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you went all emo on us,” Clyde questioned, “You got all depressed and Tweek seemed fine and-”

“Craig,” Token suddenly spoke, cutting Clyde off from finishing his sentence. He had a look on his face that Craig couldn’t read, which frustrated him. “Craig, are you in love with Tweek?”

Craig stared at the guys for a moment. He felt his hands forming into a fist again, but not out of anger this time. He closed his eyes and nodded his head.

The silence that followed was dreading. Craig kept his eyes shut and waited for someone to say something. Anything. He didn’t want to be the first to speak. He honestly wanted to just go back to his room and hide under his covers. He wasn’t even sure what he was so afraid of. He knew the guys were going to accept the fact that he had feelings for a guy. Hell, he had them convinced he was dating Tweek for almost a decade and they never had a problem with it. But maybe it was because this was the first time Craig actually admitted to having real, genuine feelings for Tweek. He’s kept it in for so long, but now he finally confessed that he was indeed in love with Tweek.

“That’s why you’re so upset with this breakup.” Jimmy’s voice caused Craig to finally open his eyes. For the first time since Craig walked into this room, the guys didn’t have concerned or confused looked on their faces. This time, they had a look of actual understanding.

“I used our fake relationship as an excuse to do what I wanted with Tweek. I was able to hold his hand whenever I wanted. To kiss him. To have him as mine and no one else's. Sure it was all fake, but it actually meant something to me.” Craig groaned and he dropped his head into his hands, “And now it’s over.”

Craig felt a hand on his shoulder and he slowly looked over to make eye contact with a smiling Clyde. “It’s okay, dude.”

“It’s not,” Craig mumbled. He looked back at all the guys. “I don’t want it to be over. I want to be with him. But in a real relationship. Not some fake one we’re forced into just so we can please other people.”

“How long have you had feelings for him?”

Craig shrugged, “I don’t know. For a long time.” Craig never kept track on when his feelings for Tweek came into play. It clearly developed from spending so much time with the blond boy, but Craig couldn’t pinpoint the moment the hugs and kisses became more than just a show for the town. He didn’t know when he actually started craving the kissing, and the touches, and the intimate moments for his own pleasure.

Craig and Tweek have been around each other for so long, it all became second nature for Craig.

Craig held in the frustrated groan that wanted to come out, but instead he released a heavy sigh. “I guess, I’m just mad about everything. About how we ended. And how Tweek doesn’t even want to look at me in public anymore. How empty I’ve been feeling since he left. And, I don’t know, I guess that’s why I kept skipping class and shit. And doing all this stuff that I know is bad for me. I just don’t know what to do with myself anymore.”

The smoking and everything made him feel numb most of the time. Which, at first, felt like a better alternative than feeling heartbroken.

Craig wanted to punch something. Anything. He hated showing his vulnerability. He hated showing people how he felt. He wasn’t like Tweek. He couldn’t wear his heart on his sleeve so easily like Tweek does. He secretly envied the blonde for that.

But Token’s hand was still on his knee, and Craig didn’t realize up until now how comforting it was. Just being able to tell the guys the truth was a weight lifted off his shoulders. And while Craig wasn’t used to expressing himself that didn’t involve muttering crap under his breath or flipping the bird to whoever was pissing him off, it felt good to actually talk about what’s been going on.

“You need to talk to Tweek.”

Craig glanced over at Clyde, the boy grinning at him with this usual cheeky smile whenever he thinks he has a good idea. “Talk to him?” Craig said, though it sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

“Yeah, dude,” Clyde said, his grin growing wider, “Tweek is cool. Maybe if you just explain to him everything then, I don’t know, you guys can get back together or something.”

“Clyde, it’s not that easy,” Token said.

“Why not?” Clyde questioned, “Craig is just gonna spend the rest of his high school career being emo if he doesn’t step up and do something. Tweek isn’t gonna know you got these feelings for him if you don’t tell him. And who knows, maybe he’s got a thing for you too. I mean, you guys were technically together for almost a decade. He’s bound to feel some type of way towards you.”

While Clyde was being a little too optimistic about the whole situation, he did have a point. Craig needed to tell Tweek about his feelings. There was no denying that. But how? It was hard enough to get Tweek to even hang out with him on the low, there was no way Craig would be able to confess without some type of obstacle standing in the way.

“Clyde has a point,” Jimmy said, “You guys need to talk this out.”

“Easier said than done,” Token muttered. He paused to think for a moment. “But talking will clear things out.”

“Totally dude,” Clyde piped in, “We just gotta find a way to get these two talking again. Oh! Maybe we should pull a Cartman and lock the two up in the boys locker room.”

Token shuttered at that idea, memories from Elementary school rushing back to him. Memories he clearly tried pushing away. “Yeah, let’s not do that.”

“Why not? It worked for you and Nicole.”

“Anyways,” Token muttered as he quickly went to changing the subject. “We’re not in the fourth grade anymore. We need a real, actual plan.”

Craig watched as the guys began thinking of ways to get Tweek to talking with Craig again. Most of the ideas were brought by Clyde, which was then hyped up by Jimmy, but was quickly shut down by Token. Craig simply sat on the sidelines as he let the three of them figure a plan out. He knew it was pointless to let them continue to try and figure something for him out. He also knew he should tell them about the fact that he and Tweek actually are talking, but only in secret. And that they hang out, in secret. And that they’re still friends, in secret.

But he wasn’t sure how they were going to react to it. Lying to them about being in a fake relationship for the good of this shitty town is one thing, hiding the fact that he was secretly spending time with the guy he’s been moping about for the past few months is on a whole other level. But there was no reason to waste more his time by sitting here and watching them plan for something that wasn’t even going to happen.

“I didn’t finish telling you guys everything.”

The guys looked over that Craig’s direction. They remained quiet as they waited for Craig to say what he had to say.

“Me and Tweek still hang out.”

Craig didn’t let them say anything, as he went straight into explaining to them what’s been going on the last few weeks. He started off with mentioning the late phone calls. He then went on to explain about the treehouse, how he got permission from Kenny to use the old treehouse from when they were kids, and how Tweek and Craig have been secretly hanging out there for the past two weeks.

The guys listened intently and didn’t say a thing until Craig was finished.

“And I know what you guys are going to say,” Craig mumbled. He was still feeling a bit uncomfortable with talking about everything to the guys. “‘Why are you being so upset if you’re still talking to Tweek? It’s not like you completely lost him if that’s the case.’” Craig shrugged. “Like I said before, I’m mad. I mean, yeah, I’m still talking with Tweek. So yeah, he’s not completely out of my life. But he’s not completely in it either. We’re talking in secret, for crying out loud. We have to act like we don’t even know each other when we’re out in public. I can’t even make direct eye contact while passing him in the halls. I miss him, guys. I fucking miss him. Like, it hurts. As if there’s this heavy weight on my chest that only goes away when I’m with Tweek. Fuck guys,” Craig sent a pleading look towards his friends, a realization suddenly hitting him, “I don’t know what to do.”

The anger was there, no doubt about it. But not as much as how lost he’s felt since breaking up with Tweek. It really sucked. And the more Craig thought about it, the more he realized he needed Tweek. Tweek was a huge part of him that he clearly couldn’t let go, nor did he want to. He missed Tweek.

“I feel like,” Craig continued on, “it’s different now that we’re broken up. It’s like, I can’t talk to him the way I did before. I mean, we joke and we tease each other, and I like that, don’t get me wrong. But before, we’d sometimes get really personal. Like, really personal. He’d tell me about all of his episodes he’d gotten throughout the week, no matter how small it was. And I’d talk to him about the crap that goes on at home sometimes, like my parents fighting. But now, it’s like I have to hold my tongue cause I don’t want to scare him away. What if I say something a friend shouldn’t say to another friend and he freaks out?”

Token, as always, was the voice of reason that Craig needed. Token cracked a small smile and placed a hand on Craig’s shoulder. “This is Tweek you’re talking about.” His voice was loud compared to Craig’s, and Craig felt comfort from it. it felt nice that there was someone stable near him. “This is the guy you’ve been friends with way before you guys even started this whole fake dating crap. You don’t really think Tweek would drop you that easily, do you?”

“No,” Craig admitted, “No, I don’t.” Tweek wasn’t like that, Craig knew it. Tweek wouldn’t cut him off if he knew how much Craig really needed him. But the fear was still in the back of his mind, and Craig didn’t want to risk ruining anything.

“It seems to me that things between you and Tweek are going pretty good,” Jimmy commented, “You’re spending alone time with him, which is a big step compared to when you guys first broke up. You don’t really have anything you need to worry about.”  
Craig remained quiet. He pulled at the collar of his shirt, his face suddenly getting hot as he thought about what he wanted to say next. “I want to tell Tweek how I feel.”

“Like, confess?” Clyde asked.

Craig nodded his head. “I just don’t know how to do it. Or if he’ll even accept my feelings. But I want to win him over.”

The guys exchanged a look, and Craig didn’t bother to let them give their input before speaking again. “I’ve been getting help. With winning him over, I mean.” Craig took a deep breath before pulling off his backpack and placing it on the floor in front of him. He leaned to unzip the bag, and then dug inside until he found the thing he was looking for. Knowing it was a bad idea, he pulled out the familiar packet that’s been helping him with Tweek since day one. Keeping his eyes downcasted and way from making contact with any of the guys, he handed the packet over to Token. “Tips. I’ve been getting tips.”

Token skeptically took ahold of the packet and the boys huddled together to read the front cover. “How to Win Tweek in 5 Easy Steps.” Eyebrow raised, Token glanced over at Craig. “What is this?”

Craig shrugged a shoulder and continued to avoid eye contact. “I found it in my bag the day after me and Tweek broke up. I think one of the Asian girls might have wrote it before they left the school.”

Clyde grabbed the packet and flipped to the first page. “Step one: Call him.” He flipped to the second page. “Step two: See him.” Third page. “Step three: Go on a date.” Clyde began to flip to the fourth page, but Craig quickly reached over and snatched the packet out of Clyde’s hands.

“No!” he practically shouted as he held the packet tightly in his hands, “I haven't gotten to the fourth step yet.”

Token stared at the packet in Craig’s hands and slowly look up to make eye contact with Craig. “You’ve been using this packet as tips to get with Tweek.”

Craig felt his face heating up even more. This was so stupid. “It’s not like I know anything about dating,” he tried defending, “I’ve been with only one person my whole life and it wasn’t even real. Plus, these steps are so vague, I’m basically figuring everything out on my own. The packet is just giving me a little push.”

“So you calling him at night was because of the packet? And finding a place to hang out in secret? Because the packet told you to?”

Craig nodded his head. “I only followed it because it wasn’t bad advice. And it did work. I mean, we spent like a month talking to each other on the phone. So I figured I’d check the next step, which was seeing him. And it worked too! I found a place where we could hang out without anyone finding out and now I get to actually hang out with him.”

“And step three?” Clyde asked.

“I’m in a stump,” Craig found himself muttering, “I don’t know how to get him to agree to go on a date with me when we can’t even be seen together. And I don’t want to have a date in that shitty treehouse either. Tweek deserves better than that. ”

Clyde grabbed ahold of the packet, and after reassuring Craig he wouldn’t look at the last two steps, he turned to the third page and reread the words that were typed on it. “Go on a date.” Clyde bit down his bottom lip, his eyebrows furrowing together as he thought for a moment. Eventually he shrugged his shoulder as he handed the packet back. “Hey, it didn’t say you have to go on a date with Tweek. Just that you have to go on a date.”

“What the hell does that even mean,” Craig muttered as he grabbed the packet and stuffed it back into his bag. “It’s not like I can go on a date with someone else. He’ll find out and assume that I’m no longer available. Then I’ll definitely won’t be able to win him over.”

Token scratched the back of his neck. He looked like he wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure how to word it. “Do you really think following tips from some Asian chick will actually get you back with Tweek?”

“It’s not like I have anything else to help me. Besides, it’s helped me gotten this far with Tweek, maybe it’ll actually work. I just gotta figure out this dating shit.”

Suddenly, the sound of the school bell rang throughout the classroom, and the guys immediately knew that lunch was over. Which meant that it was time to get to their next classes. Craig growled under his breath as he closed his bookbag and slung it over his shoulder. The guys stood up after Craig did, and the four of them began making their way to the door and into the hallway.

“Look dude,” Token said once the four of them were outside and the halls were beginning to fill with students. “We’ll help you with this Tweek thing, alright? Don’t think you gotta deal with this crap on your own.”

Craig looked between the guys and sighed. “Thanks. But you don’t have to worry about it. This is between me and Tweek. I can handle myself.” He appreciated the offer, but he didn’t want to drag the guys into his crap.

“Fuck no, dude,” Clyde said, that stupid grin back on his face, “If you need us for whatever, dude, we got you.”

“Only if you want,” Jimmy said, “No pr-pre-pressure.”

“But at least do us the favor and start going back to the old Craig,” Token said, “Go back to class and cut the smoking. And stop being an ass all the time. It’s unattractive.”

Craig felt his face breaking out into a smirk. “I’ve always been an ass, though.”

Token just chuckled. He lightly punched Craig on the shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later, dude.” After Jimmy gave Craig a good pat on the shoulder, he and Token made their way down the hall towards their next class, leaving Clyde and Craig alone.

The two of them began heading towards Craig’s next class, which happened to be biology. They were silent the whole walk to the room, the only sound being heard was of the chattering students around them. Once they reached Craig’s classroom door, Craig stopped his tracks just a few steps before entering the room. He turned to Clyde, who had stopped right beside him. “Look dude,” he said once Clyde looked over at him, probably wondering why he had stopped walking, “I’m sorry about Saturday. I really didn’t mean to forget about the hangout thing.”

Clyde cracked a smile. “It’s cool, my dude. I’m just glad that you finally let everything out to us. I feel like you really needed that. You know, to just talk about your feelings.”

Craig frowned. “I’m not used to that kind of stuff. I mean, at least not with other people.” He’s only ever talked about his feelings with Tweek.

“I hope things between you and Tweek work out. I really do. He’s good for you. Whether you guys are in a relationship or just friends, having him around is good for you.”

Clyde was an annoying idiot most of the time, but there was a reason why Craig kept him close by after all these years. Because he was a good friend. A better friend Craig could ever be.

“I appreciate it,” Craig said with a small grin. “Thanks.”

Clyde was still grinning as he took a few steps back. “Anytime. But I’m gonna head to my next class. There’s too much gayness in the air for me right now. All this talk about feelings and crap, you know.”

Craig’s grin grew wider as he flipped Clyde off. “Fuck you, dude.”

Clyde simply laughed at the comment before turning around and heading down the hall. Craig watched until Clyde turned the corner and became completely out of sight before he turned around and stared at his classroom door. With a long sigh, he went inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it isn’t obvious enough, I have a problem with procrastination.
> 
> Also I made a South Park centric tumblr if any of ya’ll want to yell at me to update faster on there: clydetart.tumblr.com
> 
> (Real talk it’ll help me procrastinate less)

**Author's Note:**

> Never thought I would ever write a South Park fic, yet here I am.


End file.
